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Why Taiwan and France must work together against climate change

Why Taiwan and France must work together against climate change

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The planet is experiencing accelerated warming and unprecedented loss of its biodiversity. Faced with the increasingly serious consequences of the lasting damage caused to the planet, we must act, and act quickly.

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Why Taiwan and France must work together against climate change

By Jean-Francois Casabonne-Masonnave
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France has taken full measure of this "Fight of the century". Ecology is a priority for the French government, both in France and on the international scene. This strong commitment has been accompanied by concrete measures. In 2019, France had already reached its European emissions reduction target. This year, it adopted the Climate and Resilience Act in order to anchor ecology in the heart of French society through environmental education for the young generation, the regulation of advertisement and the protection of nature and agricultural land. In terms of energy, France was the first G7 country to close all coal-fired power stations and to stop granting hydrocarbon exploration permits on its territory. Similarly, in the field of transport, it will no longer be possible to sell combustion-powered vehicles in France by 2040 at the latest. 

But merely adapting is not enough. We also need to change our production and consumption models, which requires limiting the waste of resources. The adoption in 2020 of the Anti-Waste and Circular Economy Law (AGEC law) was an important step. This law, which provides for the phasing out of single-use plastics, has already prompted many technological innovations, as evidenced by the invention in France of the first 100% recycled opaque milk bottle. It is also leading to major changes in our consumption patterns. For example, plastic packaging for fruit and vegetables weighing less than 1.5 kg will disappear in France on January 1st 2022. Similarly, the destruction of unsold goods is now prohibited in France, and the return of waste from the construction sector will become free of charge in 2022. 

The first 100% recycled opaque milk bottle. (Source: Lactel)

To address this unprecedented crisis, France has furthermore introduced new methods of governance for greater efficiency, consistency and transparency. A Citizens' Climate Convention gave a voice to 150 randomly selected citizens. Together, they debated the central question: "how to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 40% by 2030 in a spirit of social justice", with the prospect of their proposals being submitted either to a referendum, or to a vote in Parliament, or applied by regulation. After nine months of hard work, 149 proposals were formulated, 146 of which were accepted by the President of the Republic.

At the same time, the High Council for Climate has been set up as an independent body to guide the decisions of the French authorities. Chaired by the Franco-Canadian climatologist Corinne Le Quéré, and composed of twelve other scientists, economists, engineers and experts, this council is responsible for providing independent advice and recommendations to the Government on the implementation of public measures and policies to reduce France's greenhouse gas emissions (GHG).

For France's goal of carbon neutrality by 2050 is ambitious. It means a sixfold reduction in GHG emissions compared to their 1990 level. France's objective is in line with its commitments under the Paris Agreement and was transcribed into the Energy Transition Act in 2015. The objective is to reduce GHG emissions in the industry sector by 35% by 2030 and 81% by 2050. CO2 emissions are to be reduced by 81% in 2050 compared to their level in 2015. No less than 1.2 billion EUR are to be spent on improving energy efficiency, deploying low-carbon process heating and transforming industrial processes by the end of 2022. Priority has been given to the development of green hydrogen in the most polluting industries (chemicals, non-ferrous ores and construction materials, these three industries accounting for 2/3 of CO2 emissions)

In parallel with these long-term projects, the Recovery Plan linked to the COVID crisis offered the opportunity to accelerate our transition:

one third of the 100 billion euros provided for by the France Recovery Plan is dedicated to sustainable development, while half of the funding of the "France 2030" investment plan is dedicated to the ecological transition: development of small nuclear reactors allowing for better management of nuclear waste, the first low-carbon aircraft and electric cars. 

On the international level, as part of the COP26 in Glasgow, France signed the Declaration on International Public Support for the Clean Energy Transition, committing to no longer finance (both for official development assistance and export financing) fossil fuel projects abroad without greenhouse gas mitigation by the end of 2022, except for "clearly limited and defined exceptions consistent with the 1.5°C warming limit and the Paris Agreement". This declaration came a few weeks after the agreement reached at OECD to end export credit support for unabated coal-fired power plants, and it echoes the dynamic initiated by France through the international coalition Export Finance for Future (E3F), which will be the natural forum for exchanging with the other signatory countries of the declaration on how they implement it - including regarding its most ambiguous aspects (upstream/downstream, mitigation).

Cooperation with Taiwan 

But the risks of climate change and biodiversity loss know no borders. To be effective, our action can only be collective. This is why the French Office in Taipei is working closely with Taiwan, which, like France and the European Union, has set itself a goal of carbon neutrality by 2050. Initiatives have already been taken by the Taiwanese government to reduce CO2 emissions and develop renewable energies, opening up new fields of bilateral cooperation. 

With its strong experience and commitment, France is willing to go further with Taiwan. The last session of the Franco-Taiwanese Industrial Cooperation Committee (ICCM), held last November, between the General Directorate of Enterprises (DGE) and the Industrial Development Bureau (IDB) of the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) set industrial decarburization as one of its working priorities. The electric vehicle and hydrogen are other potential sources of cooperation in the service of our common ambitions. Within the framework of the ICCM, a roundtable on the circular economy brought together around twenty French and Taiwanese stakeholders in Taipei in 2019.

In July 2020, the French company Veolia and its Taiwanese partner SCI gave concrete expression to this desire to cooperate in the circular economy by creating the company FRAMOSA, which recovers up to 80% of the solvents rejected in the manufacturing processes of the pharmaceutical industry in Taiwan. 

City-to-city exchanges are also promising as shown by the cooperation established in 2018 between the city of Taoyuan and Grenoble-Métropole, which focuses in particular on the environment and the circular economy.

(Source: Ming-Tang Huang)

Clearly, French companies are actively involved. They have long contributed to Taiwan's ecological transition. We can mention Air Liquide, which has completed the first phase of the construction of its green hydrogen production units (by electrolysis) with a planned capacity of 25 MW in the Tainan Science Park and which, thanks to this new source of low-carbon hydrogen supply, will strengthen its position in the semiconductor industry; TotalEnergies, which invested in offshore wind power in 2021 and which should continue its investments in the third phase under development; Alstom, which this year put its new generation tramways into circulation in Kaohsiung, but also Ciel et Terre, which is developing floating solar panel solutions in perfect harmony with the ecosystem of local aquaculture and fish farms. Ciel et Terre has already set up 170 MW of floating solar power generation in Taiwan. In addition, the French groups Veolia and Suez are also major players in Taiwan in the collection and treatment of waste, including hazardous waste from the electronics industry and wastewater. 

As part of its Open Innovation Club, French Tech Taiwan organized a seminar on hydrogen in November 2020 with Air Liquide and the Office of Energy (MOEA), and more recently another seminar on decarburization involving TotalEnergies, Safran, Air Liquide and numerous French and Taiwanese start-ups.

The French Presidency of the European Union

Ecology will be one of the pillars of the French Presidency of the Council of the European Union, which is set to begin on 1stJanuary 2022. This six-month French Presidency will strive to adopt the legislative texts presented by the European Commission last July to give concrete expression to our ambition of carbon neutrality by 2050 and a 55% reduction in our greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. 

The objective is always the same: not wasting a minute. In particular, under the French Presidency, one of our objectives will be the implementation of the carbon adjustment mechanism at the borders, which will again offer new opportunities with Taiwan.

Not wasting a minute: this is precisely the ambition that Taiwan and France must set for themselves in order to act together and cooperate for the sake of climate.


About the author:

Jean-Francois Casabonne-Masonnave is the director of French Office in Taipei. He has been a professional diplomat for over 30 years.


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