Climate Change Administration

Pursuant to the Regulations Governing the Collection of Carbon Fees, entities are required to calculate and pay their carbon fee each year before the end of May, based on the previous year's greenhouse gas emissions. As May 31 of this year (2026) fell on a Sunday, June 1 was the final day for payment of the first period of carbon fees. According to the Ministry of Environment's preliminary statistics, all 461 facilities subject to the fee (240 enterprises in total) completed payment in full, for a total of NT$4.97 billion. The successful completion of this first round of carbon fee collection marks a historic milestone for Taiwan's carbon pricing mechanism, and demonstrates the resolve of major domestic enterprises to fulfill their carbon reduction commitments and work together with the government toward the goal of net-zero emissions by 2050.

The Ministry of Environment analyzed the payments made by the ten industries contributing the most to carbon fee revenue. The semiconductor industry paid the largest share, at approximately NT$2.2 billion, or about 44.3% of the total, followed by the power supply industry (12.77%), the chemical materials manufacturing industry (10.97%), the steel manufacturing industry (8.06%), the petroleum and coal products manufacturing industry (4.83%), the cement and cement products manufacturing industry (2.61%), the printed circuit board manufacturing industry (2.45%), the plastics and synthetic rubber materials manufacturing industry (2.41%), the other electronic parts and components manufacturing industry (1.48%), and the optoelectronic materials and components manufacturing industry (1.40%). The Ministry expressed its appreciation for industry's full cooperation and the assistance of other government agencies, which enabled full and timely completion of payment for the first period of carbon fees; no entity applied to the Ministry for an extension of the payment deadline or for installment payment on account of the situation in the Middle East or any other force majeure factor.

The Ministry further explained that, pursuant to Article 33 of the Climate Change Response Act, future carbon fee revenue will, following deliberation by the Greenhouse Gas Management Fund Management Committee, be earmarked exclusively for carrying out greenhouse gas reduction and climate change adaptation work. This includes new subsidies and incentives for greenhouse gas reduction and adaptation measures by entities and local governments; interest subsidies and credit guarantees for net-zero transition loans; the Climate Just Transition Program carried out in coordination with the National Development Council; and other matters relating to climate change adaptation research and greenhouse gas reduction.

The Ministry of Environment explained that the carbon fee system is one of the key policy tools driving industry's low-carbon transition. To date, the Ministry has approved the Self-Determined Reduction Plans of 402 facilities in total. Of these, 64 facilities adopted the designated reduction rate under Appendix 1 (industry-specific) as their designated target and are subject to Preferential Rate A (NT$50 per metric ton of CO2e), while 338 facilities adopted the designated reduction rate under Appendix 2 (technology benchmark) as their designated target and are subject to Preferential Rate B (NT$100 per metric ton of CO2e). The Self-Determined Reduction Plans of these 402 facilities are preliminarily estimated to deliver 47.45 million metric tons of carbon reduction by 2030 (Year 119).

To ensure that entities subject to the fee genuinely carry out their reduction commitments, the Ministry emphasized that it will audit the implementation progress of Self-Determined Reduction Plans every year. Entities are required to submit their implementation progress report for the previous year to the Ministry before April 30 of each year, and only entities whose progress meets requirements may apply the preferential rate for that year. The Ministry will continue to carry out audits of the implementation progress of Self-Determined Reduction Plans in the second half of this year; where an audit finds that an entity has not implemented its plan as approved, the Ministry will, in accordance with the law, retroactively collect the difference between the standard rate and the preferential rate for that year.

The Ministry of Environment noted that although declaration and payment of the first period of carbon fees have now been completed in full, the tracking and on-site auditing of the implementation progress of Self-Determined Reduction Plans going forward remain the key task in ensuring that the nation's phased reduction targets are achieved on schedule. The Ministry stressed that genuinely following through on carbon reduction commitments is the only way for enterprises to lower their long-term carbon fee costs and maintain their footing in international markets. The Ministry will continue to uphold the principles of fairness, transparency, and guidance, and will continue to stand alongside industry on the path toward carbon reduction.