Cross-Caucus Negotiations on 10日, MOEA Calls to Maintain Current System
The Legislative Yuan is scheduled to hold cross-caucus negotiations on the draft amendments to the Air Pollution Control Act on 10日, with the Ministry of Economic Affairs expressing concerns via press release on 9日. The draft, proposed by the Kuomintang and Taiwan People's Party caucuses and others, passed a vote in late 5月底 to proceed directly to a second reading. The Ministry said the revision has wide-ranging implications, affecting nearly 8000 businesses in manufacturing, power generation, and livelihood sectors such as hospitals and hotels, warning hasty revision could severely impact business operations, livelihoods and national energy resilience, and calling for full consultation and maintaining the current management mechanism. The Ministry also noted it has repeatedly joined with the National Federation of Industries, the Industrial Park Manufacturers United Federation, the Petrochemical Association, the Steel Association and others in publicly expressing opposition.
Tighter Extension Reviews and Shorter Validity Periods Raise Shutdown Fears
The Ministry pointed out the draft limits the extension review period to 2個月, barring operation if review is not completed, which could force companies to halt operations, with supply-chain disruptions causing economic losses. Permit extension validity would be shortened from 3至5年 to 2至5年, and for Class 3 control zones may be shortened to 2年以下, forcing high-tech industries and power plants in western Taiwan to apply frequently, raising administrative costs and undermining stable operations. On local authority, the draft empowers local governments to directly require businesses to cut emissions, risking inconsistent central-local standards and higher operating risks; local governments could also unilaterally ban or restrict specific fuels, constraining public and private power plant operations and threatening Taiwan-wide power supply stability and industrial operations.
Vague Revision Criteria, MOEA Cites Reduction Results
The Ministry said the draft authorizes local governments to revise permit terms on grounds of deemed necessity for reduction, suspected health risks, evaluation showing better and cost-effective control technology, or routine anomalies shown by continuous automated monitoring data, but vague definitions would create high uncertainty and undermine predictability for corporate investment. On control performance, Taiwan's annual average PM2.5 concentration improved by 21%, with central and southern regions improving by 24.4%. Agencies under the Ministry cumulatively reduced air pollutant emissions by 7萬7813 metric tons from 110年至114年. Through environmental dispatching, equipment performance upgrades and coal-to-gas switching, Taipower cut air pollutant emissions from coal-fired plants by over 4萬公噸 in nearly 10年, a reduction of 7成7. The Taichung Power Plant invested NT$441億元 to upgrade control equipment, cutting total emissions from about 3.84萬公噸 in 105年 to about 0.78萬公噸 last year, down 8成; all 4 coal-fired units at the Hsinta Power Plant have been switched to standby, with gas-fired units renovated at a cost of 125億元, cutting nitrogen oxide emissions by over 5成 and overall air pollution by 92%.