October 2023
Elva Chuang and Tina Lee
In light of the promulgation of the Amendments to the Climate Change Response Act on February 15, 2023, the Ministry of Environmentunder the Executive Yuan has respectively pre-announced the Amendments to the Regulations Governing Greenhouse Gas Certification and Verification Institutions, and the Regulations Governing the Inventory Registration, and Verification of Greenhouse Gas Emissions on August 9 and September 19 of the same year to enhance the quality of inspections and complete the regulations related to Taiwan’s greenhouse gas inventory and inspection system. The amendments to the two sets of regulations are highlighted below:
I. Draft Amendments to the Regulations Governing Greenhouse Gas Certification and Verification Institutions
1. Expansion of verification participation to enhance professional capacity
(1) The requirement that verification institutions must be internationally recognized or have branches established in Taiwan is removed, allowing more professional institutions to engage in greenhouse gas verification (Article 10 as amended).
(2) Educational and professional experience requirements for verifiers have been expanded to include talent in areas such as husbandry and forestry operation, fostering a diverse pool of professionals for the verification field (Article 11 as amended).
2. Enhancement of verification administration to ensure operational quality
(1) Clear guidelines have been established for the basic requirements of verifiers performing individual verification items, as well as the verification operation and training to be carried out by verification institutions and verifiers after items of permission are obtained (Articles 27-29 as amended).
(2) Regulations concerning verification operations should be enhanced, including the requirement to assess the independence and fairness of verification operations (Article 25 as amended). In addition, it is necessary to establish substantive thresholds and prepare verification plans that meet the reasonable assurance level, create accurate and detailed records of the verification process, prepare summary reports following internal technical review of verification results, etc. (Article 26 as amended).
3. Improvements to verification items to enhance permit administration
Existing verification items that require a permit are consolidated, updated, and expanded to facilitate alignment with organizational-type registered greenhouse gas emission sources that should be audited and project-type greenhouse gas reduction projects and plans, and verification institutions and verifiers are urged to engage in greenhouse gas verification in their respective areas of expertise.
II. Draft Amendments to the Regulations Governing the Inventory Registration, and Verification of Greenhouse Gas Emissions
1. Separation of inventory registration and verification timelines
(1) Separate deadlines have been set for the registration and verification processes of enterprises. The deadline for an enterprise’s inventory registration is April 30 of each year, and the deadline for uploading the verification results is October 31 of each year (Articles 6 and 9 as amended).
(2) Clear conditions for extending the registration and verification processes have been established, along with new provisions for the correction of deficiencies within a specified period in the review of non-compliance or inadequate content (Article 11 as amended).
2. Specification of emission calculation method
Specific methods, formulas, and related regulations have been established for calculating emissions using the emission coefficient, mass balance, and direct monitoring methods (Article 4 as amended). When calculating emissions using the direct monitoring method, enterprises are required to submit an emission monitoring (inspection) plan approved by the Ministry of Environment, which should include the monitoring methods and principles, the specifications for continuous monitoring facilities, installation locations, monitoring (inspection) results, data processing, quality assurance procedures, recording method and retention of monitoring (inspection) results, and other matters designated by the Ministry of Environment.
3. Specific stipulation on the content of inventory reports and new confidentiality requirements
(1) The required content of the greenhouse gas inventory reports submitted by enterprises is clearly stipulated for the compliance by enterprises when they draft inventory reports. This includes process flows, product production volume, units of emission sources, types of their greenhouse gases emissions, and raw materials and types, composition, carbon content, lower heating value, and usage quantities of fuels related to the emissions, as well as explanations of emission reduction measures implemented by enterprises and other details (Article 7 as amended).
(2) To ensure the reasonable protection of individual privacy and trade secrets involved in audit and verification data, new provisions are added to stipulate that the audit and verification data of enterprises shall be kept confidential (Article 16 as amended). Violators of this article may be subject to criminal and civil liability stipulated under the Trade Secrets Act.
4. Verification requirements that should be followed
When an enterprise’s greenhouse gas audit results show that verification is required, verification must be carried out by a verification institution with a permit from the competent authority. In addition, the verification results must meet the reasonable assurance level,[1] and the verification shall not be conducted by the same lead verifier for six consecutive years (Article 8 as amended).
5. Types of violation subject to legal penalties under the Regulations
The types of violation of the Regulations subject to notification, correction, and fines pursuant to Article 49, Paragraph 1 of the Climate Change Response Act are clearly stipulated. For failure to complete registration within the deadline, failure to upload verification results within the deadline, failure to complete corrections by the deadline, failure to properly retain data as required, and discrepancies of more than five percent between registered greenhouse gas emissions and the results audited by the competent authority, the enterprise will be notified to cure or improve within a specified period. For failure to cure or improve within the period, a fine of NT$100,000 to NT$1,000,000 will be imposed, along with a notice demanding cure or improvement within a specified period. For failure to cure or improve within the period, the fine will be continuously imposed for each instance (Article 15 as amended).
[1] The greenhouse gas audit and verification levels can be classified into the “reasonable assurance level” and the “limited assurance level.” The reasonable assurance level refers to the substantively accurate and fair statement made by the verifier on the results from verifying the support data and information asserted for greenhouse gas emissions, and such a statement possesses a reasonable level of credibility.
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