A bill on the development of renewable energy will "very likely" be passed in the current legislative session, lawmakers serving on the Economics and Energy Committee said yesterday.
However, the passage of bills on an energy tax and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions was unlikely to proceed as smoothly, with controversies surrounding these bills still lingering, they said.
The legislators and the government agency in charge of drafting a final version of the energy tax bill have not yet done so, while further discussions are required before the legislative Sanitation, Environment and Social Welfare Committee will be able to complete the second review of the greenhouse gas reduction bill.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Wang To-far (
Wang said that the Environmental Protection Administration had in principle accepted his suggestion of setting up a timeline in which the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by a certain percentage must be reached by a certain date.
Wang reported on the progress of the three bills related to environmental protection at a press conference yesterday where lawmakers who visited the UK at the end of last month briefed the media on their thoughts and observations on how the British government was addressing the issue.
They described their visit, initiated by the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office, as significant, as it was the first official visit to the UK since the two nations severed diplomatic relations 35 years ago.
DPP legislators Lee Chun-yee (李俊毅) and Chen Min-jen (陳明真), KMT Legislator Lwo Shih-hsiung (羅世雄), deputy director of the British Trade and Cultural Office Charles Garrett and Bureau of Energy Director-General Yeh Huey-ching (葉惠青) also addressed the press conference.
Lee said that the UK had achieved great success in curbing carbon dioxide emissions and that the Taiwanese government could learn a great deal from the British example.
Wang said he hoped that the Environmental Protection Administration could establish a carbon trade policy in Taiwan within three years.
Lwo said that the renewable energy development bill had to be passed as a matter of urgency.
"We need to consider the impact on the industries that rely on low gas prices and low carbon prices, which will be removed from the market. Meanwhile, we also need growth in the renewable energy industry so that it may replace the high-pollution industries," he said.
Costa Rica sent a group of intelligence officials to Taiwan for a short-term training program, the first time the Central American country has done so since the countries ended official diplomatic relations in 2007, a Costa Rican media outlet reported last week. Five officials from the Costa Rican Directorate of Intelligence and Security last month spent 23 days in Taipei undergoing a series of training sessions focused on national security, La Nacion reported on Friday, quoting unnamed sources. The Costa Rican government has not confirmed the report. The Chinese embassy in Costa Rica protested the news, saying in a statement issued the same
Temperatures in New Taipei City’s Sindian District (新店) climbed past 37°C yesterday, as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) issued heat alerts for 16 municipalities, warning the public of intense heat expected across Taiwan. The hottest location in Taiwan was in Sindian, where the mercury reached 37.5°C at about 2pm, according to CWA data. Taipei’s Shilin District (士林) recorded a temperature of 37.4°C at noon, Taitung County’s Jinfeng Township (金峰) at 12:50 pm logged a temperature of 37.4°C and Miaoli County’s Toufen Township (頭份) reached 36.7°C at 11:40am, the CWA said. The weather agency yesterday issued a yellow level information notice for Taipei, New
Taiwan’s Liu Ming-i, right, who also goes by the name Ray Liu, poses with a Chinese Taipei flag after winning the gold medal in the men’s physique 170cm competition at the International Fitness and Bodybuilding Federation Asian Championship in Ajman, United Arab Emirates, yesterday.
CASE: Prosecutors have requested heavy sentences, citing a lack of remorse and the defendants’ role in ‘undermining the country’s democratic foundations’ Five people affiliated with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), including senior staff from the party’s Taipei branch, were indicted yesterday for allegedly forging thousands of signatures to recall two Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers. Those indicted include KMT Taipei chapter director Huang Lu Chin-ru (黃呂錦茹), secretary-general Chu Wen-ching (初文卿) and secretary Yao Fu-wen (姚富文), the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said in a news release. Prosecutors said the three were responsible for fabricating 5,211 signature forms — 2,537 related to the recall of DPP Legislator Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶) and 2,674 for DPP Legislator Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) — with forged entries accounting for
RSS