The greenhouse gas reduction law may not have received the green light before the Legislative Yuan review session ended, but the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) demonstrated its determination to lead the nation on the road to a low carbon economy with the opening of its Greenhouse Gas Reduction Management Office yesterday.
The opening ceremony was attended by leaders of several heavy-emission companies -- Taiwan Power Co (Taipower,
LIFE AND DEATH
"Carbon emissions reduction is a task that we will regret not doing in the future if we do not start today," EPA Minister Winston Dang (陳重信) said at the ceremony. "Climate change caused by greenhouse gas emissions is presenting the human race with a problem bigger than environmental protection -- it is now a matter of life and death."
The office has been established to provide a focus point for all greenhouse gas emissions reduction efforts, including strategic evaluations, the planning, quantification and registration of all carbon emitting businesses and to foster international collaboration, EPA Bureau of Air Quality Protection and Noise Control Director-General Hsiao Hui-chuan (蕭慧娟) said.
REGISTRATION
Fifty-four businesses that produce heavy emissions, including power plants and steel factories, have voluntarily completed their registration, Hsiao said.
FPG, however, has yet to complete its registration.
Using the EU as an example, Hsiao said: "Once the greenhouse gas reduction law is passed by the new legislative body, such registration would provide the businesses with the means to trade carbon emissions in a way similar to the international market."
TRADING PRICE
The international trading price for carbon emissions is from US$1 per tonne to as much as US$30 per tonne on some European markets, she said.
"We expect the price in Taiwan to be on the high side," she said.
The EPA is still pushing for the greenhouse gas reduction law and will do so when the new legislative body convenes, she said, adding that once the law is passed, registration would be mandated and trading could start.
Regardless of the law, Dang urged Taiwanese to make environmental protection part of their lifestyle.
"When I visited Tuvalu with President Chen last October, I saw that land on which children were playing five years ago is now flooded. It is under the ocean because of climate change," he said. "Instead of greeting each other with `Have you eaten yet?' as Taiwanese traditionally do, we should ask `Have you made an effort to protect the environment?'"
The Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Wanda-Zhonghe Line is 81.7 percent complete, with public opening targeted for the end of 2027, New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) said today. Surrounding roads are to be open to the public by the end of next year, Hou said during an inspection of construction progress. The 9.5km line, featuring nine underground stations and one depot, is expected to connect Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall Station to Chukuang Station in New Taipei City’s Jhonghe District (中和). All 18 tunnels for the line are complete, while the main structures of the stations and depot are mostly finished, he
The first global hotel Keys Selection by the Michelin Guide includes four hotels in Taiwan, Michelin announced yesterday. All four received the “Michelin One Key,” indicating guests are to experience a “very special stay” at any of the locations as the establishments are “a true gem with personality. Service always goes the extra mile, and the hotel provides much more than others in its price range.” Of the four hotels, three are located in Taipei and one in Taichung. In Taipei, the One Key accolades were awarded to the Capella Taipei, Kimpton Da An Taipei and Mandarin Oriental Taipei. Capella Taipei was described by
Minister of Economic Affairs Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) yesterday said that private-sector refiners are willing to stop buying Russian naphtha should the EU ask them to, after a group of non-governmental organizations, including the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), criticized the nation’s continued business with the country. While Taiwan joined the US and its Western allies in putting broad sanctions on Russia after it invaded Ukraine in 2022, it did not explicitly ban imports of naphtha, a major hard-currency earner for Russia. While state-owned firms stopped importing Russian oil in 2023, there is no restriction on private companies to
President William Lai (賴清德) is expected to announce a new advanced “all-domain” air defense system to better defend against China when he gives his keynote national day speech today, four sources familiar with the matter said. Taiwan is ramping up defense spending and modernizing its armed forces, but faces a China that has a far larger military and is adding its own advanced new weapons such as stealth fighter jets, aircraft carriers and a huge array of missiles. Lai is expected to announce the air defense system dubbed “Taiwan Dome” in his speech this morning, one of the sources said. The system
RSS