A Taichung power plant's excessive carbon emissions have put Taiwan in the international spotlight, the Taiwan Environmental Protection Union (TEPU) said on Wednesday, citing this month's issue of Nature magazine that said the Longjing Township (
The magazine used data provided by Carbon Monitoring for Action (CARMA), a database that lists carbon dioxide emissions for 50,000 power plants globally.
CARMA is funded by the Center for Global Development, a US nonprofit organization.
MAILIAO PLANT
"In addition to the Taichung power plant, southern Taiwan also has to put up with Mailiao's (
The Mailiao power plant was sixth in CARMA's carbon emission top 10, she said.
"With such high existing emission rates it is unthinkable that the government is still pushing for the construction of [CPC Corp, Taiwan's] Eighth Naphtha Cracker and [Formosa Plastic Group's] steel plant," she said.
"Although we are not part of the United Nations, such emissions will eventually draw international sanctions," she said. "It is time we started to contemplate how to live low-carbon lifestyles."
EPA RESPONSE
Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) Deputy Minister Chang Tzi-chin (
In response to the TEPU allegations, Taipower published a statement saying that instead of looking at the total emissions figure per single plant, emission intensity should be considered.
"Taiwan is a small place, therefore we need to utilize our space efficiently," the statement said. "The Taichung power plant is the largest in the world and provides 20 percent of the nation's electricity, so it emits a large amount of carbon."
"However, according to data published by CARMA, the plant in Taichung is doing well; it is emitting 0.92 kilograms of carbon dioxide per unit of electricity, much lower than the number for the rest of the nine power plants on the top-10 list," it said.
Trips for more than 100,000 international and domestic air travelers could be disrupted as China launches a military exercise around Taiwan today, Taiwan’s Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said yesterday. The exercise could affect nearly 900 flights scheduled to enter the Taipei Flight Information Region (FIR) during the exercise window, it added. A notice issued by the Chinese Civil Aviation Administration showed there would be seven temporary zones around the Taiwan Strait which would be used for live-fire exercises, lasting from 8am to 6pm today. All aircraft are prohibited from entering during exercise, it says. Taipei FIR has 14 international air routes and
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,
City buses in Taipei and New Taipei City, as well as the Taipei MRT, would on Saturday begin accepting QR code payments from five electronic payment providers, the Taipei Department of Transportation said yesterday. The new option would allow passengers to use the “transportation QR code” feature from EasyWallet, iPass Money, iCash Pay, Jkopay or PXPay Plus. Passengers should open their preferred electronic payment app, select the “transportation code” — not the regular payment code — unlock it, and scan the code at ticket readers or gates, General Planning Division Director-General Liu Kuo-chu (劉國著) said. People should move through the
The Ministry of National Defense (MND) today released images of the military tracking China’s People's Liberation Army (PLA) movements during the latest round of Chinese drills around Taiwan. The PLA began "Justice Mission 2025" drills today, carrying out live-fire drills, simulated strikes on land and maritime targets, and exercises to blockade the nation's main ports. The exercises are to continue tomorrow, with the PLA announcing sea and air space restrictions for five zones around Taiwan for 10 hours starting from 8:30am. The ministry today released images showing a Chinese J-16 fighter jet tracked by a F-16V Block 20 jet and the
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