Taiwanese government funds and postal savings have invested a combined NT$54.8 billion (US$1.85 billion) in fossil fuel companies, according to environmental groups, urging Taipei to improve disclosure and set a timetable for divestment as the global shift to low-carbon energy gathers pace.
The findings, published in a report by the Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) and German environmental group Urgewald, add to scrutiny over whether Taiwan’s public finances are aligned with its net zero goals.
According to the report, Taiwan’s labour funds, which include labour insurance and pension funds, held at least US$1.686 billion in fossil fuel-related investments, while Chunghwa Post’s savings business held a further US$59 million.
The Labour Funds Bureau’s largest disclosed fossil fuel holdings were in state-owned utility Taipower, at around US$900 million, and state oil refiner CPC Corp, at roughly US$450 million, the report said.
Other holdings included parent companies of firms such as Asia Cement, Nan Ya Plastics, Formosa Chemicals & Fibre and Formosa Plastics.
Chunghwa Post’s disclosed fossil fuel investment consisted of a US$59 million holding in Asia Cement, according to the report.
EJF said the figures were likely to represent only part of the picture because the labour funds and Chunghwa Post had not fully disclosed their investment portfolios.
“The current data are only the tip of the iceberg,” the group said.
EJF contrasted the scale of the investments with Taiwan’s climate spending, noting that the environment ministry’s annual statutory budget in 2024 and 2025 was around NT$8 billion, meaning the combined fossil fuel investments were worth nearly seven times the ministry’s yearly budget.
The group argue the mismatch highlighted contradictions in Taiwan’s policymaking, with state-backed funds continuing to support carbon-intensive industries while the government pushes a 2050 net zero target.
Taiwan has pledged to reach net zero emissions by 2050 and has been rolling out a carbon fee regime for large emitters as part of a broader climate policy overhaul.
But the island remains heavily dependent on imported fossil fuels, particularly liquefied natural gas and coal, for power generation, leaving state-run firms such as Taipower and CPC at the centre of its energy system and complicating efforts to align public investment with decarbonisation goals.
Taiwan’s carbon fee system took effect in 2025, with major power and manufacturing emitters required to pay based on their annual emissions from 2025 onward. The first carbon fee collection cycle raised nearly NT$5 billion this year, according to the environment ministry.
“Taiwan’s government funds should not continue financing industries that are exacerbating the global climate crisis, inequality and injustice,” EJF Chief Executive Steve Trent said in a statement.
“Institutional investors hold enormous leverage and have a responsibility to redirect capital through active, robust and systematic climate action,” he said.
Urgewald chief executive Heffa Schücking said East Asia was warming at roughly twice the global average rate and was particularly vulnerable to climate change impacts.
“Taiwan’s public funds should strictly review their portfolios and ensure capital allocation does not intensify the climate crisis,” Schücking said, calling for greater portfolio transparency, climate risk management strategies and a plan to phase out fossil fuel investments.
EJF said the issue had broad implications for Taiwan’s households because the labour funds underpin retirement protection for more than 10 million workers, while Chunghwa Post has more than 37 million savings accounts nationwide.
Although both the labour funds and Chunghwa Post have said they support Taiwan’s 2050 net zero target, EJF warned their continued exposure to high-carbon industries could leave pension and savings assets vulnerable to losses as fossil fuel investments risk becoming stranded assets in the global energy transition.
