The Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) yesterday celebrated its 21st birthday, with Minister Steven Shen (沈世宏) vowing to carry on the hard work of his predecessors. Shen also vowed to combat global challenges such as the energy crisis and global warming.
During the ceremony, former EPA ministers Winston Dang (陳重信), Eugene Chien (簡又新), Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) and Chang Chu-enn (張祖恩) were in attendance and commended the administration for its efforts in cleaning up the nation.
“In the past 21 years, the number of days Taiwan experienced bad air quality has dropped from 17 percent to 4 percent ... The number of rivers with pollution levels over the standard have dropped from 14 percent to 6.7 percent,” Shen said, adding that the nation also led the world in recycling, with daily waste per capita dropping from 1.1kg to 0.58kg.
However, massive construction projects as well as industrial development have elevated Taiwan’s carbon emissions to a level that puts it on par with the top carbon emitters in the world, Eugene Chien, the EPA’s first minister, said.
“From 1990 to 2006, while England and Germany’s emissions increased by 17 percent, and emissions in the US increased by 14 percent, Taiwan’s emissions increased by 113 percent,” he said.
“Taiwanese are now more and more aware of issues in environmental protection. However, it is also important to collaborate and make exchanges with other countries on environmental matters, as the effort to fight global warming should be taken to the international level,” he said.
Citing the Pacific Greenhouse Gases Measurement project, Dang said that “environmental diplomacy is not difficult and would be immensely helpful not only for Taiwan, but for the world.”
In the project, Taiwan offered “the last piece of the puzzle” for a group of European and Japanese scientists who wished to monitor the Earth’s greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere.
Taiwan did so by installing observational equipment on China Airlines passenger flights, thus providing data over the Pacific Ocean, which was data that the joint European and Japanese project lacked.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost