Carbon Footprint Accounting Practices in Taiwan

Abstract

By using carbon dioxide emissions in Taiwan, this study attempts to account for total carbon dioxide emissions and per capita emissions at city and county level, based on the household consumption structure in each region. Carbon dioxide emissions are translated into carbon footprint by using the ecological footprint (EF) method, followed by calculation of total and per capita carbon footprint for each city and county. Analysis results indicate that Taiwan's total carbon dioxide emissions in 2011 were 264.66 million tons, of which New Taipei City, Taipei City and Kaohsiung City were the highest. However, according to the EF framework, the per capita carbon footprint for Taiwan was 5.94 global hectares (gha) in 2011. The highest three counties and cities were Taipei City, Hsinchu City and Hsinchu County. Future research should incorporate the use of direct measures of carbon dioxide emissions in counties and cities, which would produce a more realistic outcome. Moreover, the feasibility of using the EF method to translate carbon dioxide emissions into carbon footprint should also be examined.