TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The 4th U.K.-Taiwan Energy Dialogue was held on Tuesday (July 5), focusing on bilateral cooperation on ports for the offshore wind industry, biomass energy and approaches to achieve net-zero by 2050.
Both Taiwan and U.K. officials, as well as experts in relevant fields, participated in the dialogue to exchange opinions and increase cooperation between the two sides.
Taiwan's Economics Minister Wang Mei-hua (王美花) highlighted in her remarks that Taiwan has set the target of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050 this March with 12 specific strategies. She added that “raising the share of renewable energy is one of the key strategies as well.”
Wang said that the U.K. has taken a leading stance on the net-zero emission transition and offshore wind industries, and expects the two nations to continue exchanging ideas on energy efficiency as the two sides share the goals of developing low-carbon energy and reaching net-zero emissions.
John Dennis, the representative of the British Office in Taipei (BOT), also praised Taiwan’s actions in releasing a roadmap for net-zero emissions and embodying it in law.
Dennis also pointed out that the growing offshore wind industry has been the U.K.'s most developed sector in the Taiwan-U.K. partnership, with up to 36 U.K. companies located in the island country and providing support.
"I am sure the joint project agreed here will further deepen our already strong cooperation on energy and climate change," the director said.
Port infrastructure was stressed during the dialogue, as it is consequential to the offshore wind sector, and the two sides agreed on a joint project to support that infrastructure.
Biomass was another key issue for the transition to green energy and cutting down on carbon emissions. Taiwan Power Company shared its assessment of future biomass use in the local area while announcing a visit from a group of U.K. experts led by Julie Scott, Head of Energy Diplomacy at BEIS.
The issue of floating offshore wind and grid transformation was mentioned in the discussion and a joint research project for upgrading grid resilience was proposed by BOT.