Building carbon emissions trading system has become one of the important policy tools to realize low-carbon economy. The global carbon market grows fast recently. To combat global warming and to realize of the green economy, the carbon trading has also become Taiwan’s government focus policy. Since our carbon emissions trading is systemunder constrction, these is urgent need to study the experiences abroad. On the one hand, we can take other countries’ experience for references; on the other hand, we can bear in mind the advantages and disadvantages of international implementation as learning example. According to the draft of ‘Greenhouse Gas Reduction Act,’ the central competent authority may, in response to international greenhouse gas reduction requirements, start the carbon emissions trading system to fulfill Taiwan’s international obligations. This paper threrfore aims to understand the international carbon emissions trading systems across major countries: the United Kingdom, the European Union, Australia, the United States, and Japan, and to analyze the strengths and weaknesses. We review the system covering aspects including: (1) size, (2) cap set and allowance allocation, (3) incentive systems, (4) industry motivation, (5) government agencies, (6) new ideas regarding to industrial development. We also analyze the carbon market transaction price and volume changes to clarify specific influencing factors. We hope the study results can be useful to relevant competent authority for the future development of Taiwan’s carbon emissions trading system.
