Greenpeace East Asia and others v. Ministry of Economic Affairs

On February 3, 2021, Greenpeace East Asia, the Environmental Jurists Association, and four individual plaintiffs filed suit against Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA), alleging that the agency's Regulation for Large Power Consumers was not ambitious enough, in violation of the country's climate laws. MOEA's Regulation for Large Power Consumers entered into force on January 1, 2020, and requires large consumers to transition 10% of their contracted capacity to renewable energy. Plaintiffs challenge two aspects of the regulations. They argue that the regulations improperly applied only to 10% of contracted capacity, rather than 20% of actual consumption, and the regulations improperly raised the threshold for who qualifies as a large power consumer to 5,000 kWh, exempting 90% of large company consumers. Plaintiffs argue that the defects violate the Greenhouse Gas Reduction and Management Act and the Renewable Energy Development Act, which set a 20% renewable energy goal by 2025. Plaintiffs seek a court order for the MOEA to amend the Regulation for Large Power Consumers. According to the plaintiffs, this is the first citizen suit in Taiwan seeking a reduction in carbon emissions. The court dismissed the plaintiffs' claim on May 8, 2025, stating that the plaintiffs do not have standing, cannot seek judicial review of the regulation, and that people or civic groups do not possess the right to demand that administrative agencies amend laws. Greenpeace has appealed the court decision and plans to continue challenging the court ruling on legal and factual grounds.