Climate change is no longer an abstract threat; it is a clear and present danger that is driving global legislative change. Taiwan, having experienced severe flooding from successive typhoons in 2025, is certainly not immune. As a responsible member of the international community, Taiwan's response mirrors the highest level of institutional commitment seen globally, even in nations like Türkiye.

Türkiye’s Parliament recently formalized a remarkable transition to combat climate change with a comprehensive climate program. The country adopted its first-ever climate law, introducing a wide-ranging legal framework, establishing a national Emissions Trading System (ETS) and the Climate Change Directorate to enforce environmental regulations.

Türkiye’s ruling party has launched a nationwide climate awareness push, with the "Green Transformation and Climate Awareness Program” in all 81 provinces, aiming to bring the government’s new climate legislation and long-term vision for a carbon-neutral future directly to the public.

Taiwan, under Lai Ching-te’s administration, has presented an ambitious Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) for 2035 aligned with the Paris Agreement, committing to a net-zero carbon pathway by 2050. The government established the National Climate Change Committee, set clear emission-reduction benchmarks (26%-30% by 2030 and 36%-40% by 2035) and passed the Climate Change Response Act, enshrining net-zero targets in law. Taiwan’s strategy centers on a comprehensive carbon pricing mechanism, the launch of a new carbon fee and emissions trading system, combined with extensive mitigation programs, technology investments and robust public engagement. Adaptation actions are prioritized at national and local scales to ensure protection from climate risks, including extreme weather events and a just, inclusive transition. That new standard of climate governance involves translating international commitments into binding domestic action, and it proves that Taiwan is committed to taking action based on a solid and crucial legal foundation.

Dual-track carbon market

To steer this net-zero transition, Taiwan is focusing on the same twin levers as any major economy: enforceable action and robust carbon pricing. The Comprehensive Carbon Reduction Action Plan requires every ministry and agency to review and improve its mitigation programs, ensuring a top-down mandate for bottom-up execution. Crucially, Taiwan is implementing a sophisticated carbon pricing system that acknowledges the complexity of its export-oriented industry.

Taiwan officially launched its carbon fee system this year, initially set at approximately $10 per metric ton. This move prioritizes cost certainty, providing industries with a predictable financial signal to guide massive, long-term investments in clean technology and energy efficiency.

The revenue generated from this fee does not simply enter the general budget. It is ring-fenced to fund the National Climate Change Fund. This is the financial engine that subsidizes clean technology adoption, supports the development of the future Emissions Trading System (ETS) and invests in research and development for critical green technologies. This closed-loop financing mechanism guarantees that polluter-pays revenue directly fuels the transition.

Recognizing that price stability alone does not guarantee the necessary quantity of emissions reductions, a core principle of the mandatory ETS is. Taiwan is committed to introducing a cap-and-trade ETS in stages. This dual-track approach ensures market diversity and creates the foundation for substantive engagement under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement and alignment with international carbon markets.

Green innovation, adaptation

While not a U.N. Party, Taiwan has voluntarily aligned with the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change framework and timeline in submitting its Nationally Determined Contribution 3.0 this year. This submission highlights 10 key dimensions, including the domestic legal framework, smart green energy strategies and green finance, demonstrating a commitment to the same structural reform being formalized elsewhere.

These commitments extend beyond mitigation. Taiwan is actively working to define its own Green Taxonomy to direct private capital. This effort is complemented by targeted programs from the Ministry of Economic Affairs to support high-emitting sectors, like steel and cement, in developing low-carbon production methods, fostering an economy-wide transformation.

Taiwan is pursuing climate change adaptation policies, covering critical infrastructure, water resources and industry. Just as Türkiye's new law mandates the development of a green taxonomy and enforces strict penalties for non-compliance, Taiwan ensures its actions are robust and verifiable, fostering public-private cooperation models, such as the Heat Adaptation Strategy Alliance, to enhance its resilience.

In 2024 and 2025, both Taiwan and Türkiye have made significant moves to confront the global climate crisis with major new policies and public initiatives. Both are responding not just with top-level regulation, but also through broad-based public participation, transparent reporting and innovation across energy, industry and community. Their approaches – Taiwan’s emphasis on carbon pricing, technological and societal transformation and Türkiye’s establishment of a robust climate law and public outreach – underscore the urgency of collective action.

As global risks from climate disasters grow, these efforts exemplify how diverse nations can align local ambitions with international climate goals and call on global partners to strengthen cooperation for a sustainable, net-zero future. COP30 will serve as the starting point for the next phase of global climate action. Taiwan has proven its resolve and capacity: from enshrining net-zero in law and creating a central governance body, to initiating its dual-track carbon market with a ring-fenced climate fund and transparently reporting its progress.

Climate change requires collective action and the effective use of every tool, every technology and every experience. We urge all countries to support Taiwan’s participation in COP30 in Belem, Brazil, so that its substantial technical and institutional progress can contribute directly to the global response in the spirit of the "Global Mutirao" (a collective effort).