In the second episode of Gore's Climate Mirror, has the world's dirtiest polluter changed? Among the top carbon emitters named in 2022, which have improved? Which have worsened?
Climate TRACE is the world's most comprehensive independent database on global greenhouse gas emissions. Taiwan has seven of the world's 500 dirtiest carbon emission sources in 2022. Image source: From the Climate TRACE official website.
Do you remember that at COP27 last year, former US Vice President Al Gore opened the climate mirror "Climate TRACE"?
It integrates data from satellites, remote sensing and other public and commercial data, and uses AI to calculate the carbon emissions of the world's 20 dirtiest industries, including 72,612 power plants, refineries, oil fields, steel mills, cement plants, airports, etc., all of which are spread out on a world map. It is said to be the most detailed independent global greenhouse gas emissions database currently available.
In 2023, Gore struck again. This time, it was even more drastic, with the number of pollution sources identified skyrocketing from over 70,000 to 352 million, a 4,400-fold annual increase. This included cities, fishing ports, road traffic, rice paddies, and field burning, and the national carbon emissions data span was extended to 2015.
The most realistic global carbon emissions database
“It’s really powerful,” Gall said. “We came to this COP specifically for this year’s global stocktake,” he said, noting that “Climate Tracker is the only independent, comprehensive source of accurate data currently available for this stocktake.”
In fact, Climate TRACE will also "verify" and "catch leaks" in the carbon emission data of various countries.
Climate Tracker told Science that in 2021, Russia underreported approximately 1.5 billion tons of greenhouse gases (CO2), while the United States underreported 400 million tons, mostly from oil and gas operations. They estimate that rich nations underreported 3 billion tons of carbon emissions to the UN that year, representing 5% of global emissions. Climate Tracker also found that the United Arab Emirates, the host of COP28, underreported over 100 million tons of carbon emissions in its most recent report from 2019.
Back to the latest data, climate tracking found that global emissions increased by 1.5% from 2021 to 2022. If calculated from the year the Paris Agreement was signed, global emissions increased by 8.6% in 7 years.
In addition, aviation emissions rebounded strongly, with carbon emissions from international flights increasing by 74%, domestic flights increasing by 18%, and road traffic emissions increasing by 3.5%. The only good news is that deforestation in key areas is decreasing.
How has Taiwan performed this year?
Taiwan's overall carbon emissions decreased by 800,000 tons in 2022, a 2.4% decrease, but it still ranks among the top ten carbon emitters globally. Despite being a small country, Taiwan accounts for seven of the world's 500 dirtiest carbon emitters, meaning that 1.4 out of every 100 major carbon emitters are located in Taiwan.
Among the top ten polluting facilities in Taiwan, the top three remain unchanged. Strangely, although their carbon emissions have decreased, their global rankings have all risen.
The Taichung Thermal Power Plant still holds the top spot, despite a 900,000-ton (-2.6%) decrease in carbon emissions compared to last year. However, it has risen six places in the global carbon pollution ranking, jumping from 34th last year to 28th, setting a new record for Taiwan. Its carbon emissions of 32.7 million tons are higher than Lebanon's national carbon emissions.
The Mailiao Power Plant retained its second place in Taiwan and rose seven places globally, from 62nd to 55th. Its carbon emissions were higher than Croatia's national carbon emissions, reaching 24.88 million tons, but decreased by 670,000 tons (-2.6%) compared to last year.
The Xingda Power Plant maintained its third place in Taiwan and rose 14 places globally to 140th. Its carbon emissions decreased by 300,000 tons (-1.8%) to a total of 16.73 million tons, which is close to Costa Rica's national carbon emissions.
The plant that saw the biggest "rise" in the global ranking was Chung Long Steel's Taichung plant, which advanced from outside the list to tenth place in Taiwan this year. Its global carbon pollution ranking also jumped from 1212th to 840th, an increase of 372 places, and it saw the biggest "demotion".
Formosa Plastics' Mailiao Plant reduces carbon emissions by nearly 20% annually
The company that saw the biggest drop in global rankings was Formosa Petrochemical's Mailiao Plant, which fell out of the top ten in Taiwan this year. Its global carbon pollution ranking dropped from 1011th to 1439th, a drop of 428 places, but it saw the biggest improvement.
In addition to Formosa Petrochemical's Mailiao Plant, two other plants saw improvements in their global rankings: China Steel Structure's Kaohsiung Plant and the Heping Power Plant. China Steel Structure's Kaohsiung Plant dropped two spots this year, from fourth in Taiwan last year to sixth, and fell out of the top 200 globally to 250th. It reduced carbon emissions by 2.32 million tons, a 15.3% reduction. The Heping Power Plant maintained its ranking in Taiwan, but dropped 23 spots globally, from 652nd to 675th, reducing carbon emissions by 210,000 tons, a 2.6% reduction. If one looks at carbon emissions alone, regardless of ranking, most plants have made significant reductions. Formosa Petrochemical's Mailiao Plant, which took the top spot last year, reduced carbon emissions by 121 tons, a 19.9% reduction.
However, carbon emissions increased at three companies: Datan Power Plant (+2.7%), Tongxiao Power Plant (+1.3%), and Chung Long Steel Taichung Plant (+21.8%). The largest increase was at Chung Long Steel Taichung Plant, where carbon emissions increased from 5.54 million tons last year to 6.75 million tons, a 21.8% increase.
There are still differences between international data and local data in Taiwan
However, according to statistics from the Ministry of Environment's "Industrial Greenhouse Gas Emissions Information Platform," among Taiwan's top ten pollution sources in 2022, China Steel Corporation achieved the largest annual reduction of 12%, followed by Formosa Plastics' Mailiao Plant No. 1, which reduced emissions by 8%. Emissions increased significantly at Taipower's Xingda and Linkou power plants, both exceeding 4% annually. Overall, the top ten industrial emission sources, with annual emissions exceeding 10 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e), increased to 8 million metric tons. The newest entrant into the 10 million metric tons emission list is Taipower's Tongxiao power plant. Data is the cornerstone of implementation; only with accurate data can we truly take stock and hold people accountable. Gore hopes that climate tracking will one day be integrated into the United Nations, allowing for a truly global inventory.
Taiwan's carbon pollution map over the past two years: Color-coded by industry, from top to bottom: red for agriculture, light blue for construction, gray for fluorinated gases, orange for fossil fuel operations, dark green for forestry and land use, purple for manufacturing, dark blue for mining, turquoise for power generation, orange for transportation, and finally light green for waste.
Climate Tracker 2023 Report Key Highlights
Global emissions continued to rise in 2022: From 2021 to 2022, global emissions increased by 1.5%, and from 2015, the year the Paris Agreement was signed, to 2022, they increased by 8.6%.
China, India, and the United States have seen the largest increases in emissions: Since 2015, the largest increases in global emissions have come from electricity production and other energy use in China, electricity production in India, and oil and gas production in the United States. Emissions increases from a few sectors in these three countries account for nearly half of the global increase in emissions since 2015. In 2022, changes in emissions from oil and gas production in the United States and Iran, and electricity generation in India, accounted for 17% of the global increase in emissions.
Methane rises: In the year following the global methane pledge, methane emissions increased by 1.8%. In 2022, China’s growing methane emissions accounted for 39% of the increase, with China’s coal mining sector accounting for the majority of the increase.
Oil and Gas Footprint: Flaring is a significant and widespread source of emissions from the oil and gas industry, accounting for 15% of CO2 from global oil and gas production. Some countries, such as the Netherlands, Norway, Israel, and Colombia, have low levels (40%). Reducing flaring can reduce both CO2 and the unburned methane produced during the combustion process.
Deforestation rates decline in key regions: While global emissions from deforestation remain high (4.5 billion tonnes of CO₂e) and increase slightly in 2022 (+5%), some key regions have seen significant reductions. In Indonesia, emissions from deforestation and forest degradation decreased by 56% and 87% from 2015 to 2022, respectively. In the Congo Basin, emissions from deforestation and forest degradation decreased by 7% and 19% in 2022 compared to 2021.
Road transport emissions increase in rich countries: Road transport emissions increase by 3.5% in 2022. Despite the growing adoption of electric vehicles, high-income and lower-middle-income countries account for 68% of the total growth in emissions. Rich countries will account for 49% of all road transport emissions in 2022.
Aviation industry emissions hit a new high: In 2022, the recovery in travel after the COVID-19 pandemic led to a surge in aviation emissions. In 2022, total emissions from international flights increased by 74% year-on-year, while domestic flights increased by 18%.
Shipping impacts the Arctic: As Arctic sea ice decreases, shipping traffic in the region has increased. The number of weeks in which Arctic ship CO2 emissions exceeded 30,000 tonnes doubled between 2018 and 2022
Petrochemicals are playing a growing role: Ethylene production (through steam cracking), the first petrochemical to be included in climate tracking, has seen its greenhouse gas emissions surge 22% since 2015.
** This article is reprinted with permission from CSR@Tianxia. The original title is "Climate Mirror Upgrade! UAE Underreports 100 Million Tons of Carbon Emissions, Chunghwa Steel Enters Taiwan's Top Ten Polluters, Formosa Plastics' Mailiao Plant Shows the Most Improvement | COP28 Midfield Battle." Not subject to CC licenses.
Source: Environmental Information Centre
