In January 2026, Taiwan will officially begin levying its carbon fee.

For many business owners, the first reaction is often, “Is this just another excuse for the government to collect money?”

But from an accountant’s perspective, there is an uncomfortable truth that needs to be stated clearly: the carbon fee is neither a slogan nor a sustainability branding issue. It is a real cost that will flow directly into the financial statements.

And in the first year, the biggest risk is not how much you pay. The real challenge lies in how the cost is recognized, when it is accrued, and whether it is accounted for correctly at all.

When Taiwan–Japan cross-border collaboration encounters difficulties, discussions often focus on institutional design. Questions such as whether processes are too slow, rules too detailed, or documentation requirements overly conservative tend to dominate

Against the backdrop of a high-interest-rate environment and heightened geopolitical tensions, the predictability of the traditional U.S. IPO market has declined significantly.

When Climate Risk Escalates — “Natural Capital” Is Now Part of Financial Disclosure

Following the issuance of IFRS S1 and S2 by the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB), which established the global framework for disclosing climate-related financial risks, the recommendations released by the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) signal a major shift: companies must now expand their focus beyond carbon emissions (climate risk) to encompass the broader spectrum of nature-related risks.

The convergence of these two standards positions TNFD as the second major disclosure framework that directly affects financial reporting. For industries highly dependent on natural capital—such as water resources, land, and biodiversity—including agriculture, construction, manufacturing, and tourism, TNFD adoption is not merely a sustainability exercise. It is a critical accounting issue that directly influences asset valuation and impairment testing.

When reviewing business performance, cross-border enterprises often revisit the quality of their strategic judgments, including choices of direction, risk assessments, and market assumptions.

A Wake-Up Call for 2026 Budget Planning — Cap-and-Trade Is Far More Forceful Than the Carbon Fee

With Taiwan’s carbon fee scheduled to take effect in 2026, corporate finance and accounting teams are facing unprecedented budgeting challenges. Yet the truly disruptive factor is not the price per ton of emissions, but the highly probable introduction of a cap-and-trade system in the near future.

Cap-and-trade not only imposes a strict limit on total corporate emissions but may also trigger carbon credit scarcity and soaring compliance costs—directly constraining production scale and eroding profitability. This article examines the potential impact of cap-and-trade and explores how companies can adopt financial strategies to optimize capital expenditure in advance, turning emerging risks into strategic assets.

After a subsidiary is established overseas, the flow of information is often the first element to change. Information must move across departments, institutional frameworks, and linguistic contexts, and this movement involves multiple points of transfer.

In the past, ESG management mainly focused on corporate governance structures, carbon emission control, and supply chain disclosure. However, as the concept of sustainable development continues to deepen, global policies and investment institutions have begun expanding ESG applications to the consumer level. In recent years, the European Union has emphasized a policy framework for “Sustainable Consumption and Production,” guiding companies to integrate environmental impact assessments into every stage—from design, production, and packaging to sales and payment.