ERF – Environmental Rights Foundation – 財團法人環境權保障基金會 – 推動環境權保障、環境監測和公民培力

EMPOWER. TRANSFORM. SUSTAINABILITY.

Mission

Environmental Rights Foundation (ERF) promotes environmental rights through legal aid, research and investigation, and policy-level advocacy.We work at the intersection of environmental justice, climate justice and human rights—building bridges between local communities and national and global policy spaces. We leverage Taiwan’s unique position in global supply chains to drive corporate accountability and environmental justice across Asia and beyond.

Our Work

Our Strategies

Legal and Strategic Aid

We provide legal and strategic support to frontline communities to help them prevent or remedy harm caused by the government or businesses.

RESEARCH and Investigations

We conduct in-depth research, field investigations and legal analysis to uncover and document evidence of injustice and inform impactful action.

Advocacy and Engagement

We work closely with affected communities and rights holders, and facilitate their engagement with decision-makers to drive policy change and uphold their rights.

International Solidarity

We build cross-border alliances to amplify local struggles and bring global attention to systemic abuses. We actively participate in regional and international forums and campaigns to share Taiwan’s perspective and align our efforts with the global movement.

Issue Areas

Climate Justice

We ensure climate policies effectively reduce emissions and are implemented justly. We push governments and corporations to adopt more ambitious carbon reduction targets and transition plans by legal action. We also work to advance renewable energy policies that equitably share benefits with Indigenous peoples and other vulnerable groups, ensuring their rights are respected throughout the energy transition.

Business & Human Rights

We are committed to holding businesses accountable for their environmental and human rights impacts. In 2023, we founded Taiwan’s first cross-disciplinary alliance —Taiwan Transnational Corporations Watch —with seven civil society organisations to focus our efforts and strengthen solidarity. Our key areas of work include regional and national legal and policy reforms such as mandatory due diligence laws and investment and transparency regulations; we also tackle individual cases, seeking remedy and solutions by supporting communities, identifying presspoints and engaging companies and investors.

Environmental Democracy

A strong democracy is essential for environmental protection. We work to ensure that individuals and communities have a meaningful role in decision-making processes that impact their environment. We promote legal and policy reforms that strengthen public participation, government transparency, and environmental justice.

Cases & Campaigns

Together We Make a Diifference

Legal Aid Cases

covering domestic and international grounds

In-depth Reports

and more, including opinion pieces

International Events

connecting regional and global partners

Taiwan’s first Constitutional Climate Lawsuit

ERF filed Taiwan’s first constitutional climate lawsuit in 2024, challenging the country’s short- and mid-term carbon reduction targets on behalf of 13 individuals—including Indigenous people affected by Typhoon Morakot in 2009, as well as farmers, fishers, children, and climate advocates. This case has attracted significant domestic and international attention, with environmental law organizations from Japan, South Korea, and Europe requesting further details.

The lawsuit was prompted by Taiwan’s Climate Change Response Act, which fails to specify phased national emission reduction targets and does not establish clear criteria for the Ministry of Environment to follow when setting such targets. Additionally, the Ministry missed the legal deadline of January 1, 2024 to announce the third-phase (January 1, 2026 – December 31, 2030) national emission reduction target.

Towards a Just Transition: Taiwan’s Role in Reforming Indonesia’s Nickel Industry

In 2024, ERF uncovered—for the first time—the presence of Taiwanese businesses in Indonesia’s nickel industrial parks, long dominated by Chinese-Indonesian interests. As these companies are subject to higher transparency and sustainability standards, their involvement offers a critical opportunity to influence and improve the deeply problematic nickel supply chains. Partnering with local environmental groups and community activists, ERF conducted on-the-ground investigations in IMIP and IWIP, documenting serious environmental and social harms linked to nickel extraction and tracing direct ties to Taiwanese firms.

The findings, released in a November 2024 report, drew attention from national media, lawmakers, and human rights commissioners. In 2025, ERF continues to push for accountability—engaging companies and policymakers, facilitating dialogue among key stakeholders, and calling on the international community to support reform. With the right backing, this moment could mark a turning point for corporate responsibility and environmental justice in Southeast Asia.

No Coal for Aggression: Ending Taiwan’s Reliance on Russian Coal

Despite global sanctions on Russian coal—imposed in response to its ties to an authoritarian regime and widespread environmental and human rights abuses—Taiwan became the world’s fifth-largest importer, following China, India, South Korea, and Turkey, since its full-scale invasion against Ukraine in 2022. While the United States and Europe moved swiftly to curtail purchases, Taiwan’s major corporations continued their reliance on Russian coal.

In response, ERF partnered with European environmental organisations, Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) and EcoDefense to investigate Taiwan’s leading importers, identifying key players such as Formosa Plastics and Taiwan Cement. Through sustained advocacy—including published reports and shareholder engagement—Taiwan Cement eventually publicly committed to ending its imports of Russian coal.

Indigenous Rights and Renewable Energy: Self-Determination and Just Transition

ERF supports Indigenous communities in defending their land rights amid Taiwan’s energy transition. We played a key role in Taiwan’s first renewable development litigation and Indigenous rights—the Jhihben Solar Power Case—which resulted in a landmark victory affirming Indigenous self-determination.

As renewable energy development accelerates, including geothermal projects, we continue to work to empower Indigenous communities and strengthen their leadership in energy governance. We believe renewable energy developments should respect Indigenous cultures and support their visions for a sustainable future.

Challenging Formosa Plastics: Environmental Injustice in Vietnam, the U.S., and Taiwan

Formosa Plastics Group—one of the world’s largest petrochemical multinationals—continues to cause severe environmental and human rights harm across its operations in the United States, Vietnam, and Taiwan. ERF works alongside civil society groups and affected communities in all three countries, using litigation, advocacy, and investor engagement to pursue accountability and justice.

In 2024, ERF strengthened its global alliances by partnering with organisations focused on plastic reduction, petrochemical downsizing, and responsible investment. Through this multi-pronged strategy, ERF is demanding that Formosa Plastics respect environmental and human rights standards while ensuring that impacted communities receive fair and meaningful remedies.

Holding Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing Accountable: ERF’s Work on TSMC and Global Coalition Building

Advanced semiconductor manufacturing, such as the 2nm process, demands unprecedented levels of water, energy, and waste management.

These massive industrial projects inevitably strain the environmental carrying capacity of their host regions, further impacting local communities, their livelihoods, and their right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment.

ERF assisted Taichung residents in filing a lawsuit to revoke the EIA approval for TSMC’s 2nm project and to demand a more thorough environmental assessment. We also connected CSOs in Japan, Germany, the US, and South Korea working on semiconductor and AI industries, sharing insights on the climate-water-energy nexus of advanced chip manufacturing based on our experience with TSMC, and preparing a project to link global stakeholders and support affected communities in understanding and engaging with the impacts of advanced chip manufacturing.

Our Team

Chief Executive Officer

Yuwen TU

Deputy Chief Executive Officer

Mark Pojen HSU

Taichung Office / Taiwan Ocean and Environmental Sustainability Law Center

Director

Han-Shu Chung

Taiwan Ocean and Environmental Sustainability Law Center

Researcher

Fei Chun WU

氣候變遷暨公正轉型部

Director

Aerys TANG

Administrative Officer

范植鈿

法律扶助部

Attorney-at-Law

Zoe Huang

Attorney-at-Law

Stephen YEN

Attorney-at-Law

Fran LO

Paralegal

Yi Ling CHEN

Paralegal

Siao Han WANG

專案經理

Candia Tong

Our History

Environmental Rights Foundation (ERF) is an NPO based in Taiwan, Asia, founded in 2017 due to the result of the court settlement regarding the lawsuit on the 3rd phase expansion of Central Taiwan Science Park (CTSP) between farmers and the government. According to the settlement contract, the board of directors of the ERF is nominated by scholars, local farmers, lawyers, and environmental experts, with six members recommended by civil society and three members appointed by government agencies.