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International Alignment and Green Growth of Net Zero Technologies in Taiwan

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Roger Tseng

EY Taiwan Climate Change, Sustainability Services and ESG Advisory & Assurance Services Partner

6 minute read 30 Apr 2025
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Energy and resources
Climate change and sustainability services

The introduction of foreign net zero technologies, when necessary, can shorten the industrial learning curve, drive capital investments into low-carbon, transitional, and enabling economic activities.

In brief

  • EY Taiwan refers to the "IEA Clean Energy Technology Guide" published by the International Energy Agency (IEA), using three metrics to compare and analyze technologies from the Net Zero Plan.
  • The ETP Technology Guide categorizes technologies based on their stage of Development.
  • Regulatory standards include policies to accelerate the development and adoption of technologies.
  • For Taiwan’s industrial and construction sectors, the plan primarily provides policy explanations or regulatory responses, adopting approximately 3% and 1% of technologies from the ETP Technology Guide, respectively.

Taiwan is committed to achieving net zero emissions by 2050. Guided by the Climate Change Response Act with four transition strategies at its core — energy, industry, lifestyle, and society — the government has implemented the "2023-2026 Plan for Taiwan's Pathway to Net Zero Emissions" (hereafter referred to as the Net Zero Plan). Approved by the Executive Yuan in January 2023, this plan outlines concrete measures to drive energy transition, carbon reduction, and industrial transformation. Focusing on five key sectors such as construction, transportation, industrial, power, and negative emissions technologies, the plan identifies pathways that are critical to reaching the net zero target, and highlights Taiwan's most promising options for energy transition, which include low carbon technologies such as geothermal energy, hydrogen energy, smart grids, offshore wind power and marine energy.

While identifying net zero technologies suitable for domestic development, and examining the potential risks and opportunities associated with low-carbon transition plans, Ernst & Young, Taiwan (EY Taiwan) refers to the "IEA Clean Energy Technology Guide" (hereafter referred to as the ETP Technology Guide) published by the International Energy Agency (IEA), using three metrics to compare and analyze technologies from the Net Zero Plan: "technology readiness level", "carbon reduction potential", and "regulatory standards".

The ETP Technology Guide is a tool designed to help decision-makers, businesses, and researchers understand the status, potential, and application scenarios of clean energy technologies. It belongs to the IEA's Energy Technology Perspectives (ETP) series and comprises of detailed information on various clean energy technologies, such as stage of development, market application, cost trends, and contribution to reducing carbon emissions. The guide includes key technologies for the production, conversion, storage, and usage of energy such as: renewable energy (solar, wind, hydro, geothermal), energy storage (batteries, hydrogen), energy efficiency (building, industrial, and transportation technologies), carbon capture and storage (CCUS), and low-carbon fuels (green hydrogen, synthetic fuels, bioenergy).

Technology Readiness Level

The ETP Technology Guide categorizes technologies based on their stage of development:

  1. Research and Development (R&D): in need of further research and testing.
  2. Demonstration: under testing or trial operation.
  3. Early Deployment: beginning to be applied in specific markets.
  4. Commercialization: widely used and cost competitive.

Carbon Reduction Potential

This evaluates each technology's contribution to global carbon reduction in 2030 and 2050, as well as the necessary scale of deployment to achieve net zero goals.

Regulatory Standards

These standards include policies to accelerate the development and adoption of technologies, such as:

  1. Government-supported R&D programs.
  2. Market incentive mechanisms (e.g., carbon pricing and subsidies).
  3. Promotion of international cooperation and technology transfer.

When compared to the ETP Technology Guide, Taiwan has relatively comprehensive improvement plans and specific technological pathways in the energy and transportation sectors. The Net Zero Plan proposes numerous improvement measures for the energy sector, covering areas such as geothermal energy, hydrogen, grids, offshore wind power, and marine energy. Taiwan has adopted approximately 20% of the energy-related technologies outlined in the ETP Technology Guide; however, technologies such as sustainable fuels and methane reforming have yet to be included due to insufficient maturity.

In the transportation sector, the plan extensively discusses electric vehicles, electric motorcycles, and the electrification of public transportation. Taiwan has adopted approximately 10% of the transportation-related technologies in the ETP Technology Guide; however, a clear or specific description on the policy of technologies such as hydrogen or ammonia infrastructure, as well as fuel cells are still missing from the picture.

How EY can help

For Taiwan’s industrial and construction sectors, the plan primarily provides policy explanations or regulatory responses, adopting approximately 3% and 1% of technologies from the ETP Technology Guide, respectively. While there are missing proposals regarding technological promotion that are clearly outlined as those demonstrated in the ETP Technology Guide, the industrial sector is focusing instead on Best Available Technologies (BAT), such as low-carbon processes, energy conversion applications, and equipment performance improvements, which are less closely related to net zero technology development. Despite the proposal of individual carbon reduction or 2050 net zero plans from key industries such as steel and cement, the Net Zero Plan does not address related policies, or specify how sustainable finance will provide sufficient funding or investment for industrial transformation. Similarly, the construction sector also focuses on policies and supporting measures without a defined trajectory for Taiwan’s future technological advancement. The push for net zero buildings remains in its infancy, with no explicit or detailed policies on topics such as control systems for cooling, thermal efficiency, lighting standards, low-carbon materials, lifecycle extensions or circular economy, near-zero carbon building ventilation, as well as technical standards for building envelope.

"Vision to Reality – A Net Zero Future" Report co-published by Ernst & Young and European Chamber of Commerce Taiwan (ECCT)

Download the PDF

Summary

Net zero goals should target 2050, not just 2030; therefore, EY teams suggest that Taiwan should broaden its research and draw lessons from the net zero technology blueprints of Europe and international benchmarks. Beyond continuous and comprehensive evaluation of feasibility, the integration of economic and industrial policies with sustainable finance is crucial to the support of green growth. In addition to existing principles from EU Taxonomy Regulation, Taiwan should reference the EU Green Deal by incorporating Transition and Enabling activities. The introduction of foreign net zero technologies, when necessary, can shorten the industrial learning curve, drive capital investments into low-carbon, transitional, and enabling economic activities. Only then can Taiwan's net zero goals truly enhance the overall competitiveness of the nation, businesses, and society.

(Co-written by Roger Tseng, Climate Change, Sustainability and ESG Advisory Service practice leader & Taiwan CPA, & Henry Lin, Deputy Manager, Climate Change & Sustainability Services, Ernst & Young, Taiwan.)

Disclaimer: The views reflected in this article are the views of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the global EY organization or its member firms.

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    About this article

    Photographic portrait of roger-tseng
    Roger Tseng
    EY Taiwan Climate Change, Sustainability Services and ESG Advisory & Assurance Services Partner
    Professional in sustainability strategy with solid experience on corporate governance, climate risk, environmental performance, community investment, sustainability report and sustainability index.
    Related topics
    Energy and resources
    Climate change and sustainability services

    EY refers to the global organization, and may refer to one or more, of the member firms of Ernst & Young Global Limited, each of which is a separate legal entity. Ernst & Young Global Limited, a UK company limited by guarantee, does not provide services to clients.