Taiwan plans NT$100 billion net-zero aid for smaller firms

President William Lai said on Wednesday, Oct. 14, that Taiwan plans to invest NT$100 billion ($3.12 billion) over eight years to help smaller businesses digitize and cut emissions, according to a Taipei Times newspaper report.

The support links Taiwan’s industrial competitiveness to its climate targets: Lai reiterated goals to cut greenhouse-gas emissions 28% by 2030 and 38% by 2035 from 2005 levels.

Lai told the Energy Taiwan and Net-Zero Taiwan exhibitions in Taipei that tighter emissions rules across global supply chains are changing how companies win business. “The ability to cut carbon affects future orders and directly influences the international competitiveness of Taiwan’s industries,” he said.

The government would use proceeds from its carbon fee, a charge on emissions, to help industries lower pollution and finance technology development, Lai said. Taiwan has finished its first round of filings and payments under the fee system, putting a price on emissions, he said.

Lai also cited the Taiwan Green Growth Fund, which is designed to draw private capital into net-zero industries. Net zero refers to bringing net greenhouse-gas emissions to zero through cuts and other measures.

Energy supply is part of the same industrial question, Lai said, as artificial intelligence raises demand for electricity. Taiwan’s renewable-energy capacity has increased to 25 gigawatts from 4.7 gigawatts in 2016, and cumulative offshore wind capacity ranks fifth globally, he said.

Taiwan External Trade Development Council Chairman Huang Chih-fang also linked power availability to technology. “As AI changes our world, energy will determine how far the transformation can go,” Huang said, adding that no single technology can meet the challenge by itself.

Lucas Lin, chairperson of SEMI’s Green Energy and Sustainability Alliance, said companies need to turn customers’ renewable-energy commitments into production and supply-chain decisions. He said the transition could support industrial upgrading and competitiveness.

The report did not specify eligibility rules for the NT$100 billion programme, annual disbursement plans or emissions thresholds for recipients. It also did not include investor reaction or responses from individual manufacturers.

The exhibitions, organized by the trade council and SEMI’s alliance, feature more than 400 companies and run through Oct. 16 at Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center Hall 1. The exhibition areas span renewable power, storage, efficiency tools, carbon-management services and green finance.