Exploring the viability of an emission tax policy for ships at berth in Taiwanese ports

This paper considers an emissions tax to help limit external air pollution from ships in Taiwanese ports through a mixed methods research (MMR) approach. Through an empirical bottom‐up activity‐based model, external air pollution costs are estimated for seven types of ships at berth during 2012 in the three largest Taiwanese container ports. Results show pollutants are both measurable and serious in scale, i.e. that such a tax is theoretically valuable and viable. To investigate introducing such a tax at a practical policy level, qualitative in‐depth interviews were conducted with fifteen experts: port operators and government officials. Their perceptions reveal many significant tensions regarding the practicality of an emissions tax, such as a need to introduce it globally, and the idea that it may be unnecessary given other initiatives can create port sustainability. Based on these results, possibilities and considerations for the implementation and study of sustainable port operation are made.