Environmental Impact of World Trade Organization Membership for the R.O.C.

• Main Authors: Huang, Fa-Jye, 黃發志
• Other Authors: T. W. Chi
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 1997
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/48867977637287605033

碩士 === 東海大學 === 環境科學系 === 85 === Our nation has been actively seeking to become a member of World Trade Organization. It is believed that a full membership will cause large changes in trade pattern and, for the enhancement of competition, speed up the restructuring of industry and improvement in production efficiency. This study estimates the environmental impacts of a WTO membership in two parts. First, there are environmental impacts caused by the changes in import/export. Sectorial import/export changes are based on the estimate by other researchers. These data multiplied by the emission factors and energyand water requirement per unit production are the estimate of the environmental impacts. Rice import is assumed to followed a preset schedule in percent, a Japanese copy. The membership is assumed to be effective in the year of 2001. The second part of the environmental impacts is caused by the enhancement of production efficiency that is needed for our domestic industry to be competitive. Production efficiency is measured by the industrial energy bintensity. It is assumed that our industry will rapidly improve efficiency closing one-half gap of energy intensity between Japan and our nation. The study estimates the nation''s environment will be better-off by an amount equal to NT$110 billion if we join in the WTO. About 75% of this amount is in the improvement of air quality. Because of relative low production efficiency observed in our industry, bulk of the environmental improvement is realized by efficiency enhancement. Thus, the large effect of WTO membership is to equalize the technology world-wide in general and force our domestic industry towards more efficient in particular.