The concept of "sustainable development" is about meeting the needs of the present without compromising the development opportunities of future generations. Looking at the goal of tackling the greenhouse effect, the international community has placed the next checkpoint at 2030. Europe's oil companies are changing their corporate identity labels; inside China, provinces are competing with each other to address climate change; supply chains are moving towards value chains; and green energy is becoming an emerging industry that we can hardly stay out of.
For Taiwan, ESG is not an issue that can be ignored, because each of the items may be the key to Taiwan's survival. From Taiwan's geographical and climatic perspectives, how can we face the very stringent carbon emission and carbon neutral issues starting in 2030? There are also many risks that can be seen and expected. These include the moral issues of artificial intelligence (AI), the crisis of space war, and many more unexpected cyber crises. But there are also many feasible solutions readily available.
The British Standards Institute (BSI) is the world's leading organization in setting carbon emission standards. I have twice listened to Peter Pu, BSI's general manager for East Asia, give detailed talks on climate change and risk response.
In Taipei City, 70% of the greenhouse gas emissions come from indirect emissions from electricity generation, while the commercial sector contributes 74%. The Taipei City government cooperates with Taipei 101 to subsidize and invest in the parts where the skyscrapper can improve, and 50% of the carbon rights obtained can still be applied in the future. There are even suggestions that the remuneration of directors and supervisors of listed companies should be linked to carbon emissions.
By 2020, 61 countries and regions around the world had already implemented carbon pricing standards, initially defining carbon emissions in Scope 1 and Scope 2, with Scope 1 referring to carbon dioxide emissions from the direct use of fossil fuels and Scope 2 being indirect emissions, mainly referring to electricity. Now, all major companies are making preparations for this issue.
Apple's iPhone 13, for example, emits 64kg of carbon, much less than the iPhone 12, which emits over 70 kg. Apple has announced that it will reach the ideal of zero emissions by 2030. In Europe, there are already many beverage products with the amount of carbon emissions written on the packaging. Taiwan's high-speed rail system recorded 38 grams of carbon per person-kilometer when it started tracking carbon emissions more than two years ago, and now it's down to 32 grams.
Scope 3 refers to the carbon emissions of supply chain partners. The ISO 32210 specification for Scope 3 is expected to be launched by the end of 2022, and sustainability managers have become a popular profession.
We know that the construction industry contributes about 20% of global carbon emissions, but amnd all construction-related businesses, the steel and cement sectors are the largest contributors to carbon emissions.
Europe will not issue building licenses for buildings that do not meet environmental standards, and the Canadian city of Vancouver will do so starting in 2023. For construction companies, attempts to squeez "value space" out of the building itself will be futile.
