Assessing the effectiveness of community-promoted environmental protection policy by using a Delphi-fuzzy method: A case study on solar power and plain afforestation in Taiwan

Taiwan is a nation densely concentrated with industrial properties, causing a high level of greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore, poor air quality and environmental pollution in Taiwan are severe societal problems. Although Taiwan has formulated severe environmental protection-related penalties, the excessive use of energy and high level of pollution remain a persisting environmental problem in Taiwan. Because communities are collective groups beneficial for the promotion of local policies, several subsidy policies for environmental quality improvement are currently promoted through community development in Taiwan. These policies consider factors such as Taiwan’s long-day geographical environment and the increase in idle agricultural land after the process of economic transition. To explore the effectiveness of promoting these policies, this study applied the Delphi method and fuzzy logic theory to establish a quantified effectiveness assessment model. In addition, we determined that communities that encourage the participation of its residents and factors such as proenvironment, solar power, and plain afforestation enhanced the overall environmental protection of the community and reduced the emission of CO2. Furthermore, the core problems that hinder the improvement of current policies were identified.