Written question asked by George Howarth (Labour) on Thursday, 1 December 2016, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 5 December 2016. It was answered by Lord Sharma (Conservative) on Thursday, 8 December 2016 on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Taiwan: Climate Change

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of Taiwan's policies on tackling climate change.

Answer: We assess that the current and previous Taiwanese administrations have taken significant steps to tackle climate change. In 2015, Taiwan's legislature set a goal of reducing carbon emissions to 50 percent of 2005 levels by the year 2050, making it the first in the region to adopt legally binding greenhouse gas emission reduction targets. This legislation includes structures based on the UK model, specifically the Climate Change Committee and carbon budgets. This year the new administration has proposed new legislation on electricity market liberalisation, which should also help to reduce emissions.

Secondary information