The Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) held a meeting to discuss the effects of global climate change yesterday, urging the government to act now to tackle the challenges posed by a warming world.
The EPA aims to change Taiwan into a sustainable country with low carbon emissions, especially as the country’s environment is relatively fragile compared with other nations, making preparation all the more necessary.
The government needs to change its operating model to face the challenges of climate change, Interior Minister Lee Hong-yuan said yesterday.
Speaking at a forum in Taipei, Lee expressed regret that although the government has earmarked around NT$400 billion (US$13.3 billion) to improve the environment in recent years, the results have been relatively limited.
For example, he said, a project to counter land subsidence in southern Taiwan’s Chiayi County failed due to communication errors and contradictions among government sectors.
The government needs to conduct territorial planning to avoid damage from climate change, Lee said, adding that the issue was highlighted after Typhoon Morakot in 2009.
Lee pointed out that over the last 20 years, the amount of greenhouse gas emissions has been increasing by around 4.2 percent every year.
Emissions from Taiwan alone account for 0.65 percent of the world’s total, with per capita emissions reaching 11 metric tons in 2010, he said.
Taiwan might need to pay carbon taxes of NT$142.7 billion to the international community by 2025, Lee said.
Sixty-three Taiwanese companies are taking part in the Carbon Disclosure Project, he said, which encourages businesses to share the responsibility for environmental protection.
Citing data released by the Bureau of Energy, Lee said the country’s annual carbon emissions have been increasing since 2009 despite vigorous government promotion of energy-saving products and practices over the last two years.
The country’s total emissions in 2009 amounted to 239 million metric tons, increasing to 254 million metric tons in 2010 and 261 million metric tons in 2011, according to the data.
Among those, emissions from the energy, industrial and transport sectors increased, while the agricultural industry and household emissions declined.
Lu Min-hui, president of an environmental protection association in Taoyuan County, northern Taiwan, who participated in the forum, said the government has to take action such as reviewing areas along the country’s coast for restoration projects and passing law amendments on wetlands, coastal and land planning, to help save Taiwan.
