Officials at the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) called for a change in the nation's industrial structure yesterday, as the average amount of carbon dioxide each person in Taiwan emits per year is now three times the global average.
"Manufacturers in Taiwan must start focusing on two things," said Yeh Fung-luh (
Yeh's statement came as a response to an International Energy Agency (IEA) report released last year, in which it said that, in 2005, each person in Taiwan generated an average of 12 tonnes of carbon dioxide.
PHOTO: SU MENG-CHUAN, TAIPEI TIMES
The average global emission per person during the same year was four tonnes per person.
Young Chea-yuan (楊之遠), the director-general of the Air Quality Protection and Noise Control department, said yesterday that a recent report published by the Intra-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) -- an organization that examines greenhouse gas emissions and their impact on climate change at the UN -- has estimated that global temperatures will rise in the next few years. The report also said that some countries in Africa could potentially suffer more droughts in the next 50 years.
Young said that the climate in Taiwan may also get drier, adding that the Hsinchu Science Park and the Reservoir in Shimen (石門) might suffer water shortages in the future.
Meanwhile, statistics released by the Central Weather Bureau yesterday painted an equally bleak picture of global climate change.
During the last century, residents in Taipei have experienced on average 19.7 days a year when the daily temperature has exceeded 35oC. Within the past decade, however, that number has increased to 33.7 days a year. Twice within the past five years high temperatures of 35oC and above have lasted for over 40 days.
Also, compared to the past century, the relative humidity in Taipei has decreased approximately 5 percent.
To educate the public about the consequences of global warming, the EPA has decided to cooperate with the National Geographic Channel in Taiwan and hold a series of events to observe International Earth Day which falls on April 22.
EPA Minister Chang Kow-lung (張國龍) will be the official spokesperson of the campaign.
The campaign will include 24-hours of TV programs on global warming and its impact on the global environment to be broadcast on Earth Day. An online quiz will also be held whereby the public can test their knowledge of global warming and its related issues. Anybody with a perfect score on the quiz will be entered into a drawing for a free trip to the Amazon rain forest.
Taiwan is to commence mass production of the Tien Kung (天弓, “Sky Bow”) III, IV and V missiles by the second quarter of this year if the legislature approves the government’s NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.78 billion) special defense budget, an official said yesterday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said that the advanced systems are expected to provide crucial capabilities against ballistic and cruise missiles for the proposed “T-Dome,” an advanced, multi-layered air defense network. The Tien Kung III is an air defense missile with a maximum interception altitude of 35km. The Tien Kung IV and V
The disruption of 941 flights in and out of Taiwan due to China’s large-scale military exercises was no accident, but rather the result of a “quasi-blockade” used to simulate creating the air and sea routes needed for an amphibious landing, a military expert said. The disruptions occurred on Tuesday and lasted about 10 hours as China conducted live-fire drills in the Taiwan Strait. The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said the exercises affected 857 international flights and 84 domestic flights, affecting more than 100,000 travelers. Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the government-sponsored Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said the air
Taiwan lacks effective and cost-efficient armaments to intercept rockets, making the planned “T-Dome” interception system necessary, two experts said on Tuesday. The concerns were raised after China’s military fired two waves of rockets during live-fire drills around Taiwan on Tuesday, part of two-day exercises code-named “Justice Mission 2025.” The first wave involved 17 rockets launched at 9am from Pingtan in China’s Fujian Province, according to Lieutenant General Hsieh Jih-sheng (謝日升) of the Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Intelligence at the Ministry of National Defense. Those rockets landed 70 nautical miles (129.6km) northeast of Keelung without flying over Taiwan,
A strong continental cold air mass is to bring pollutants to Taiwan from tomorrow, the Ministry of Environment said today, as it issued an “orange” air quality alert for most of the country. All of Taiwan except for Hualien and Taitung counties is to be under an “orange” air quality alert tomorrow, indicating air quality that is unhealthy for sensitive groups. In China, areas from Shandong to Shanghai have been enveloped in haze since Saturday, the ministry said in a news release. Yesterday, hourly concentrations of PM2.5 in these areas ranged from 65 to 160 micrograms per cubic meter (mg/m³), and pollutants were
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