Taipei: Taiwan should not exclude nuclear power in its pursuit of clean energy to achieve its 2050 net-zero carbon emissions goal, Academia Sinica President James Liao said Monday. Fielding questions on cutting carbon emissions from opposition lawmakers at a legislative hearing, Liao emphasized that the 2050 net-zero goals are equally challenging for all countries, and Taiwan is not in a position to exclude any clean energy methods or technologies. According to Focus Taiwan, Liao highlighted nuclear power, geothermal power, and methane pyrolysis as technologies Taiwan should consider as part of its clean energy development. He concurred with lawmaker Wan Mei-ling's view that not excluding nuclear power involves utilizing new technologies to enhance the safety or strengthen the structure of nuclear power plants in seismic zones. "Technologically, all these options are feasible," Liao stated. In terms of nuclear power research, Liao suggested that beyond exploring emergent small modular reactors or direct nuc lear power, Taiwan could also study earthquakes and clearly identify areas with the highest earthquake risks to guide future decisions. Nuclear power has been a contentious issue in Taiwan, with the ruling Democratic Progressive Party phasing it out by 2025 and replacing it with renewable energy while maintaining high levels of fossil fuels in its electricity mix. Renewable energy accounted for only 10.5 percent of total electricity generation in the first nine months of 2024, an increase from 9.1 percent during the same period in 2023, but still well below the government's 20 percent target for 2025. Phasing out nuclear power, which generated over 16 percent of Taiwan's electricity as recently as 2014, has resulted in an increased reliance on fossil fuels, reaching 83.4 percent of the total electricity mix in the first nine months of 2024. Meanwhile, when asked about the potential implications if the United States were to withdraw from the Paris Agreement again, Liao remarked that it would be a setback to efforts aimed at achieving the 2050 net-zero goal. He noted that the international community would need to respond to such a decision, ideally in a timely manner.
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