Legislators yesterday passed the third reading of draft amendments to Article 12 of the Air Pollution Control Act (空氣污染防制法), now all that is needed for the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) to consult with — rather than decide with — the Ministry of Economic Affairs on regulations related to controlling the total volume of air pollution.
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) agreed to change the phrasing of Article 12 after opposition parties called for giving the EPA more control.
Draft amendments to Article 9, which allows emission allowances to be obtained for stationary sources of air pollution through trades and auctions or by reducing the emissions of mobile sources, also passed its third reading yesterday.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
Article 9 encourages companies to obtain emission allowances by buying used cars to speed up the replacement of older cars.
Article 9 was passed despite disapproval from the opposition parties, who said that substitutions between stationary and mobile sources should not be allowed because they produce different pollutants.
Public and private premises that fail to adopt the emergency control measures when weather conditions or other reasons cause a serious deterioration in air quality would be given a fine of NT$20,000 to NT$1 million (US$658 to US$32,891), according to sections that have already passed their third reading.
If the breach is committed by a factory, the fine would be NT$100,000 to NT$20 million.
Public and private premises with stationary pollution sources must also comply with emission standards. Those that go over the standard emission limit to a degree that could damage the health or life of others would face a maximum seven-year prison sentence with the possible addition of a fine of NT$1 million to NT$15 million.
As of press time last night, voting on the separate articles of the draft amendments was ongoing.
Legislative Speaker Su Jia-chyuan (蘇嘉全) earlier in the day said he hoped that the legislature could pass the proposed amendments to the act by the end of last night’s session.
Legislators earlier yesterday afternoon began the second and third readings of draft amendments to the Air Pollution Control Act after the ruling DPP and opposition parties were unable to reach a consensus in the eighth round of negotiations earlier in the day.
During the discussions, the New Power Party also called for allowing local governments to set stricter requirements than those of the central government for permitting the setting up of stationary sources of air pollution.
CHAOS: Iranians took to the streets playing celebratory music after reports of Khamenei’s death on Saturday, while mourners also gathered in Tehran yesterday Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in a major attack on Iran launched by Israel and the US, throwing the future of the Islamic republic into doubt and raising the risk of regional instability. Iranian state television and the state-run IRNA news agency announced the 86-year-old’s death early yesterday. US President Donald Trump said it gave Iranians their “greatest chance” to “take back” their country. The announcements came after a joint US and Israeli aerial bombardment that targeted Iranian military and governmental sites. Trump said the “heavy and pinpoint bombing” would continue through the week or as long
TRUST: The KMT said it respected the US’ timing and considerations, and hoped it would continue to honor its commitments to helping Taiwan bolster its defenses and deterrence US President Donald Trump is delaying a multibillion-dollar arms sale to Taiwan to ensure his visit to Beijing is successful, a New York Times report said. The weapons sales package has stalled in the US Department of State, the report said, citing US officials it did not identify. The White House has told agencies not to push forward ahead of Trump’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), it said. The two last month held a phone call to discuss trade and geopolitical flashpoints ahead of the summit. Xi raised the Taiwan issue and urged the US to handle arms sales to
BIG SPENDERS: Foreign investors bought the most Taiwan equities since 2005, signaling confidence that an AI boom would continue to benefit chipmakers Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) market capitalization swelled to US$2 trillion for the first time following a 4.25 percent rally in its American depositary receipts (ADR) overnight, putting the world’s biggest contract chipmaker sixth on the list of the world’s biggest companies by market capitalization, just behind Amazon.com Inc. The site CompaniesMarketcap.com ranked TSMC ahead of Saudi Aramco and Meta Platforms Inc. The Taiwanese company’s ADRs on Tuesday surged to US$385.75 on the New York Stock Exchange, as strong demand for artificial intelligence (AI) applications led to chip supply constraints and boost revenue growth to record-breaking levels. Each TSMC ADR represents
State-run CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) yesterday said that it had confirmed on Saturday night with its liquefied natural gas (LNG) and crude oil suppliers that shipments are proceeding as scheduled and that domestic supplies remain unaffected. The CPC yesterday announced the gasoline and diesel prices will rise by NT$0.2 and NT$0.4 per liter, respectively, starting Monday, citing Middle East tensions and blizzards in the eastern United States. CPC also iterated it has been reducing the proportion of crude oil imports from the Middle East and diversifying its supply sources in the past few years in response to geopolitical risks, expanding
RSS