Under the impact of the global financial crisis in 2009 and climate changes caused by global warming, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) presented A Global Green New Deal report suggesting all countries invest in developing green economies in order to jointly fight against global warming, revitalize economy, create job opportunities and solve the problem of poverty. For countries eager to reduce or slow down their emissions of greenhouse gases by 2012, Green New Deal has soon become the major strategy in the new phase of greenhouse gas reduction.
The so-called Green New Deal includes developing renewable energy, promoting low-carbon energy and structure of power generation, increasing energy efficiency, developing low-carbon industries, formulating efficiency standards, and encouraging the green lifestyle of purchasing appliances and vehicles which conserve energy and reduce carbon.
As a member of the global village, Taiwan has set national targets for reducing carbon dioxide in fuel emissions, dropping to 2005 levels by 2020 and to 2000 levels by 2025. At the same time, the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) of the Executive Yuan has formulated the National Energy Conservation and Carbon Reduction Plan in line with the international trend of Green New Deal, striving to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by using clean and low-carbon energy, developing a low-carbon economy and building a low-carbon homeland simultaneously.
The building of a low-carbon homeland is a challenging policy planning and national development project because it involves techniques and installations in such different fields as energy, energy conservation, construction, transportation and environmental protection, noted Hong-guang Lu, executive secretary of the EPA Office of Eco-Community Promotion Program. The experiences of other countries have demonstrated that building a low-carbon homeland cannot be accomplished overnight. The EPA will plan concrete energy conservation and carbon reduction measures for residential and commercial sectors and transportation sector to implement respectively while building a low-carbon homeland according to different local conditions. This will reduce carbon dioxide emissions and show the local landscape and cultural features while continuously upgrading quality of life by creating a lifestyle in harmony with nature.
Hammarby Sjostad in Sweden, Samso in Denmark and Vauban in Germany are models of low-carbon community. The EPA plans to gradually promote the building of a low-carbon homeland in short-, medium- and long-term, said Lu. Each of the country’s 25 cities and counties is required to establish two model low-carbon communities by 2011. The EPA hopes that six low-carbon cities will be established by 2014 through the gradual growth and replication of low-carbon communities and that the country will be divided into four living spheres in northern, central, southern and eastern Taiwan by 2020.
Since each community and city has its unique geographic, environmental and energy conditions, the related low-carbon measures cannot be completely replicated. The EPA has inducted concrete carbon reduction measures pertaining to renewable energy, energy conservation, green transportation, resource recycling, low-carbon building, greening environment and low-carbon living to plan single or integrated low-carbon measures according to different local conditions for people to implement in their daily life, thus effectively reducing energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions.
In addition to introducing the green industry team, in combination with financial system and private funds, into communities to fully implement green living, increase job opportunities in the country and create a policy environment which facilitates spontaneous replication of low-carbon communities to grow gradually into a low-carbon living sphere, the government hopes the policy platform for low-carbon homeland building will give such green industries as energy service company (ESCO) to put into practice their continuously innovated techniques, equipment and concept support, said Lu. Therefore, while enterprises conduct on research and development of innovative techniques, the National Science and Technology Program – Energy being implemented by the National Science Council is aimed at researching and developing key techniques and training elite manpower.
Carbon reduction is an easy thing and people can do it in their daily life by readily turning off switches, driving the car less, controlling air-conditioning temperatures and not using disposable items. Lu called on all people to show their love for the Earth by reducing carbon emissions and make our homeland a better place.
