Taiwan's Voluntary Compliance with the International Climate Regime : Adaptation or Learning?

In 2006, the Taiwan cabinet submitted the draft bill of the “Greenhouse Gas Reduction Act” to the Legislative Yuan. This action marks an important progress in Taiwan’s compliance with the international climate regime. After assuming office in May 2008, the newly elected president, Ma Ying-jeou, also actively advocates the “save energy and reduce carbon emissions” policy. Since Taiwan is not a signatory of the Kyoto Protocol, its willingness to comply with the carbon emissions reduction requirements poses an interesting theoretical question for students of international relations: does Taiwan’s voluntary compliance reflect its learning from the international climate norm, or merely a tactical adaptation to it? By carefully analyzing the development of Taiwan’s climate change policy and the drafting and deliberation process of the “Greenhouse Gas Reduction Act,” this paper demonstrates that Taiwan’s climate policy to a great extent is driven by the fear of being punished by the international society.Its overarching goal is still the belief that economic development should be the primary consideration. This finding suggests that Taiwan’s isolation from both the UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol has prohibited it from being socialized into their norm of climate change mitigation through intensive interaction