Execution effects of the Air Pollution Control Program(2020-2023)

The statistics data shows that the percentage of days with Air Quality Index (AQI) ≦ 100 (moderate to good air quality) exceeded 93% in 2023 after factoring out the effects of dust storms, and even the number of days with AQI >150 (Unhealthy and Hazardous categories) is 0.5%.

The concentrations of each criterion air pollutant also showed a trend of improvement year by year. The annual average concentration of PM_2.5 presented by manual calibration stations is 13.7 μg/m³ in 2023, and the annual average concentration from ambient auto-monitoring stations of suspended particulates matter (PM₁₀), ozone (O₃), sulfur dioxide (SO₂), and nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) are 30.3 μg/m³, 30.8 ppb, 1.22 ppb, and 9.4 ppb, respectively, in 2023.

The key achievements of the Program are as follows:

• The air pollutant emissions are decreased from 38,000 metric tons in 2016 to around 13,000 metric tons in 2022 at Taichung Power Plant, with a reduction ratio of 65%. The emission decreased from 19,000 metric tons in 2016 to around 6,000 metric tons in 2022 at Xing-Da Power Plant, with a reduction ratio of 68%. In addition, the pollution reduction of other government-operated enterprises, such as Chinese Petroleum Corporation, China Steel Corporation, Dragon Steel Corporation, and China Ship Building Corporation, have also continued to be implemented.
• The MOENV cooperated with the Ministry of Economic Affairs to conduct subsidies for the improvement of old boilers. In the end of 2023, a total of 7,036 industrial and non-industrial boilers had been improved.
• Statistics from 2017 to 2023, 72,147 heavy-duty diesel vehicles were phased out (including replacement) in phases 1 to 3, compared with 144,000 vehicles in the previous 2016, the number of old vehicles has decreased by more than 50%. According to data, 4,050 diesel vehicles have been phased out in 2023.
• At the end of 2019, there were about 4.74 million older motorcycles. MOENV sets to replace 1.9 million older motorcycles between the periods 2020 to 2023. Statistics to 2023, a total of 2.19 million older, higher-polluting motorcycles have been retired. The achievement rate is about 115%, as well as the accumulated reduction of older motorcycles has exceeded 42%.
• Cooperate with the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) and relevant ministries to promote the full electrification of urban buses in 2030. In 2020 to 2023, a total of 1,831 electric buses (excluding tour buses) have been approved and subsidized.
• About 200,000 metric tons of spirit money (aka joss paper) is burned every year in Taiwan, and the promoting the centralized burning of spirit money and the subsidy to set up environmental protection spirit money burner are the main improvement measures promoted by the MOENV. The goal is to reduce the burning amount by about 10% (20,000 metric tons). In 2023, the centralized burning of spirit money and environmental friendly sacrifices are reduced the burning amount by a total of 23,000 metric tons.
• The improvement target of small and medium-sized catering industry (cooking oil fumes) is 5,000 in 2020 to 2023. A total of 17,472 restaurants were conducted to improvement, the achievement rate is about 349%.
• In Taiwan, the application area of river bare land control measures is about 2,000 hectares annually. From May 2022 to April 2023, the area under control was 2,035 hectares, and the annual target was achieved. Up to now, from May to December 2023, about 1,712 hectares of bare river land have been controlled.

Air quality management measures- Air Pollution Control Program (2024-2027)

The “Air Pollution Control Program (2024-2027)” (referred to as the phase 2 program) continues the efforts of the Air Pollution Control Program (2020-2023) (referred to as the phase 1 program) to further improve PM_2.5 and O₃-8hr air quality. The phase 2 program focuses on precise management of regional and seasonal air quality issues while aligning with the 2050 net-zero policy to enhance co-benefits in pollution and carbon reduction. The phase 2 program aims to improve the national annual average concentration of PM_2.5 to 13.0 μg/m³ by 2027 and to decrease the number of AQI>150 O₃-8hr station-days by 80% compared to the baseline year 2019.

The phase 2 program outlines eight key aspects of the control strategies, as follows:

Aspect (1)、Advancing Industry Emission Reduction Techniques: This includes providing technical guidance, encouraging the adoption of green production methods, and proposing revisions to emission standards across six specific industries to reduce NOX, VOCs, and manage haps emissions.

Aspect (2)、Comprehensive management of vehicles and equipment: Strengthening the inspection and maintenance system for in-use vehicles and engine management, while encouraging the replacement of old vehicles with cleaner alternatives. This strategy aims to retire 3,700 old diesel (stage 1-3) vehicles and issue 68,000 self-management labels for large diesel vehicle fleets.

Aspect (3)、Establishing cross-ministry project management: Implementing collaborative management across agencies for five major pollution sources, including: managing folk activities (reducing joss paper burning by 12,000 tons), managing port area vessels (increasing shore power usage to 90% and enhancing road cleaning in port areas to cover 10,000 kilometers), controlling fugitive emissions from construction sites (promoting intelligent monitoring at 50 sites), managing agricultural activities (strengthening inspections of open burning and reducing chemical fertilizer use by 80,000 tons), and controlling river dust (improving 9,200 hectares of bare land).

Aspect (4)、Air pollution management for major development projects in key region: In response to industrial development planning, overseeing pollution emissions and offsets, tracking the progress of five key pollution reduction projects in central and southern Taiwan, promoting the designation of air quality maintenance areas, and reducing regional air pollution emissions.

Aspect (5)、Season-specific strengthened response: Strengthening emergency response capabilities during poor air quality season by improving early warning and forecasting systems, and intensifying pollution control measures during these times.

Aspect (6)、Achieving net zero and pollution reduction by 2050: Supporting Taiwan's energy transition and electrification of transportation policies by promoting clean energy development and increasing the number of electric vehicles to achieve co-benefits in both carbon and pollution reduction.

Aspect (7)、Emission reduction by economic incentives: Encouraging industries to reduce emissions by adjusting the air pollution fee."

Aspect (8)、Comprehensive management and support: Developing key air pollution research and technologies and continuously cultivating environmental sustainability education.