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Greenpeace East Asia and others v. Ministry of Economic Affairs - complaint

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Greenpeace East Asia and others v. Ministry of Economic Affairs - decision

Filing Year For Action

On February 3, 2021, Greenpeace East Asia, the Environmental Jurists Association, and four individual plaintiffs filed a citizen suit against Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA). The plaintiffs contend that the agency’s Regulation for Large Power Consumers fails to meet the statutory mandates of Taiwan’s Renewable Energy Development Act (REDA) and the Greenhouse Gas Reduction and Management Act (GHG Reduction and Management Act).

Although Taiwan is not a party to the Paris Agreement, it enacted the REDA in 2009 to promote renewable energy development. In 2019, the Legislative Yuan amended the REDA. Under the Article 12 of the 2019 REDA, large energy consumers must either install specified amounts of renewable power generation and storage capacity or purchase a defined quantity of renewable electricity. The MOEA, authorized to implement this provision, promulgated the Regulations for the Management of Setting
Up Renewable Energy Power Generation Equipment of Power Users Above a Certain Contract Capacity (hereinafter, the Regulation for Large Power Consumers) on January 1, 2021.

The contested regulation applies only to power users with a contracted capacity exceeding 5,000 kWh and requires merely 10% of that capacity to transition to renewable energy. Plaintiffs argue that this threshold effectively exempts roughly 90% of large corporate consumers and is inconsistent with Taiwan’s national target of achieving 20% renewable energy by 2025. They seek a judicial order compelling the MOEA to amend the regulation to impose more ambitious renewable energy obligations on major power consumers, thereby accelerating greenhouse gas reductions and combating climate change. According to the plaintiffs, this is Taiwan’s first citizen suit specifically seeking a court-ordered reduction in carbon emissions.

On May 8, 2025, the Taipei High Administrative Court dismissed the complaint on two principal grounds. First, the Court held that neither the REDA nor the Climate Change Response Act grants private parties a legally enforceable right to compel the enactment of specific administrative regulations. Second, emphasizing the principle of “judicial self-restraint,” the Court deferred to the administrative agency’s discretion, reasoning that overturning the regulation could undermine the separation of powers. Greenpeace has appealed this decision and continue to challenge the ruling on both legal and factual grounds.

Greenpeace East Asia and others v. Ministry of Economic Affairs

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An aim to achieve a quantifiable outcome within a given time-frame, set by an institution such as a national government.

Policy instruments are techniques or tools used by governing authorities to promote certain policies in order to achieve predetermined goals. Put simply, instruments are how a government tries to achieve its goals, with this taxonomy being focused on national policy instruments.

Risk is the potential for adverse consequences resulting from the dynamic interplay between (climate-related) hazards, exposure, and vulnerability of affected human or ecological systems.

Groups  of people who are adversely affected by climate change or the response to it

A set of principles, processes, and practices that build economic and political power to shift from an extractive economy to a regenerative economy.

Renewable energy means all forms of energy produced from renewable sources in a sustainable manner.

Fossil fuel is a generic term for non-renewable energy sources such as coal, fossil gas, and oil (including crude oil, and petroleum products), that can be used for electricity and heat generation. Fossil fuels are hydrocarbons formed from pressurised and heated organic material buried over millions of years.

Molecules in the atmosphere that play a key role in the greenhouse effect by trapping heat radiating from Earth’s surface.

Area of the economy in which actors engage in identical or related activities.

In human systems, the process of adjustment to actual or expected climate change and its effects, in order to moderate harm, increase resilience or exploit beneficial opportunities. In natural systems, the process of adjustment to actual climate change and its effects; human intervention may facilitate adjustment to expected climate change and its effects.

The management and allocation of funds, assets and investments to meet various objectives

A long-lived, colourless gas, chiefly emitted from fossil fuel combustion, deforestation and cement production.

A subsidy is a direct or indirect payment to individuals or businesses, typically provided as a government cash payment or a specific tax reduction.

Any compulsory, unrequited payment to the government levied on corporations or individuals. This can be for environmental reasons, such as introducing a Carbon tax to set a price that emitters must pay for the greenhouse gases they emit.

This sector includes firms and individuals offering specialised expertise in fields such as law, accounting, consulting, science and engineering.

A drought is an extended period of unusually dry weather marked by a significant and sustained lack of precipitation, falling below a specific threshold over a large area for more than a month

Energy derived from biological compounds that are renewable due to their short life cycle within the carbon dioxide cycle.

The activities of industries that transforms raw materials into finished goods through industrial processes.

The activities of industries involved in the production, distribution, and sale of energy, including electricity, gas, and renewables.

Air pollution involves harmful contaminants in the air, affecting both indoor and outdoor environments. It can lead to health issues like respiratory diseases and heart problems, and climate impacts such as global warming. Pollutants can damage plants, trees, habitats, and water bodies like rivers and lakes.

A commitment to balance GHG emissions with removal by a certain point in time, effectively reducing the net emissions to zero

The release of heat-trapping gases, primarily from human activities such as burning fossil fuels, agriculture and industry.

Slow onset events evolve gradually from incremental changes over many years or from increased frequency or intensity of recurring events. As defined in the Cancun Adaptation Framework (2010), slow onset events include risks and impacts from rising temperatures, desertification, biodiversity loss, land and forest degradation, glacial retreat, ocean acidification, sea level rise, and salinization.

Risks to the ecosystem health of the marine environment, including ocean warming, ocean acidification, and ocean deoxygenation, harming biodiversity, species health, ecosystem services, and coastal community livelihoods.

A target to reduce the prevalence of a greenhouse gas over a specific time frame

Activities that involve the cultivation of crops and raising of livestock for food, fibre, and other products essential for human life and industry.

Either money or something of monetary value is transferred between two or more organisations, people or countries.

Activities that involve planning, designing and building infrastructure, residential, and commercial structures.

Production of electricity and heat from solar irradiation.

Conditions that enhance the feasibility of adaptation options. Enabling conditions include finance, technological innovation, strengthening policy instruments, institutional capacity, multi-level governance and changes in human behaviour and lifestyles.

Climate change impacts our society by disrupting the natural, economic and social systems we depend on. Physical hazards and underlying vulnerabilities can lead to increased resource competition for food and water, which can heighten the risk of conflict.

This sector provides communication services, software development, and IT solutions.

Activities of government agencies and institutions that provide public services, enforce laws and manage public resources.

Extreme weather refers to events where a weather variable exceeds (or falls below) a threshold. Meaning it is significantly different from the average or usual weather pattern.

This sector involves activities to move goods and people, alongside the storage of products.

Greenpeace East Asia and others v. Ministry of Economic Affairs - complaint

Target

Policy instrument

Risk

Renewable energy

Fossil fuel

Greenhouse gas

Economic sector

Adaptation/resilience

Finance