Taiwan held its first civic-oriented climate summit Tuesday, with more than 300 representatives from grassroots organizations and government agencies participating in the two-day forum to discuss ways to develop sustainable living.
Similar conferences in the past have been led by government officials and scholars, but this summit is aimed at soliciting public opinion on future environmental policies, said the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA), which facilitated the summit.
The meeting was also a fulfillment of a promise made by President Ma Ying-jeou on Earth Day in 2010 to bring together the government, business groups and individual citizens in addressing environmental problems.
Environmental Minister Stephen Shen said in his opening remarks that the open dialogue marked a major step for Taiwan toward finding a win-win solution to the dilemma of balancing economic development with reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
“Instead of representing opposing positions, the government and civic groups should form a partnership to fight against climate change,” Shen said.
He said such an environment would also encourage brainstorming on ways to build a low-carbon society by overhauling industrial policy, changing the way power is generated, reforming modes of transportation and promoting environmental education.
A joint effort is expected to decrease carbon dioxide emissions to half of the 2000 levels by 2050, he said.
The summit, held after several government-level working committees and civic groups held separate meetings across Taiwan over the past two years, also drew the participation of officials from the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Economic Affairs.
Among the civic groups attending the summit were the Green Party Taiwan, the Homemakers United Foundation, the Taiwan Environmental Protection Union, and the Society of Wilderness.
On Thursday, Ma will attend the summit to respond to suggestions or questions raised by event participants.
