The Climate Change Response Act (氣候變遷因應法), which introduces a carbon fee collection mechanism, was promulgated on 15 February 2023. According to the Climate Change Administration (CCA) of the Ministry of Environment, the carbon tax-related subsidiary laws are currently being discussed with industries, with an expected preannouncement at the end of 2023. The actual carbon fee rates will be determined in the first half of next year. The initial carbon fee collection will be based on the 2024 emissions of the entities subject to carbon fee, with the carbon fee calculated and payable in 2025. The aim of this plan is to encourage businesses to reduce their emissions in advance so as to lessen the burden of carbon feees.

The CCA has been formulating subsidiary laws related to the Climate Change Response Act. These include the announcement made on 31 May regarding the Emission Sources Subject to Inventory, Registration and Inspection of Greenhouse Gas Emissions (應盤查登錄及查驗溫室氣體排放量之排放源). From June to August, the CCA successively preannounced draft regulations of the Management Regulations for the Inventory and Registration of Greenhouse Gas Emissions (溫室氣體排放量盤查登錄管理辦法), the Management Regulations for Greenhouse Gas Increase Offsets (溫室氣體增量抵換管理辦法), the Management Regulations for Voluntary Greenhouse Gas Reduction Projects (溫室氣體自願減量專案管理辦法), and the Management Regulations for Greenhouse Gas Certification and Inspection Organizations (溫室氣體認證機構及查驗機構管理辦法). Public hearings and consultations have also been conducted for these four draft subsidiary laws.

The carbon fee-related subsidiary laws include regulations for carbon fee collection, the announcement of carbon fee collection targets and rates, the regulations for the review of designated emission reduction objectives and voluntary emission reduction plans, and the guidelines for the establishment of the carbon fee rate review committee. The draft regulations for these subsidiary laws are expected to be proposed by the end of this year. In the initial stage, the entities subject to carbon fee collection are expected to be the manufacturing enterprises and the power generation enterprises with annual emissions exceeding 25,000 metric tons. The CCA has not only actively engaged in drafting the aforementioned subsidiary laws but has also planned discussions with various industries to minimize the impact on them. It emphasized that carbon fee collection will have significant implications and will be carefully evaluated and discussed extensively with stakeholders before its implementation.

Regarding the timeline for carbon fee collection, the CCA stated that, as previously explained to the public, carbon fee collection will commence in 2024. The collection process is planned to base on the 2024 greenhouse gas emissions of the entities subject to carbon fee, with payment due in 2025. There are no delays anticipated in this timeline. The CCA emphasized that this timeline for carbon fee collection allows the entities subject to carbon fee to review their greenhouse gas emissions early and initiate carbon reduction efforts. Doing so, they would be able to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in 2024 and thereby mitigate the impact of the fee.

Excerpt from Major Environmental Policies, August 2023