Taiwan ranked third in Asia and 32nd worldwide in the 2009 Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI) for emissions last year, a report by Climate Action Network Europe (CAN-Europe) and Germanwatch, two non-governmental organizations, showed.
The report's evaluation of Taiwan was based on research by Lee Chien-ming (李堅明), an assistant professor at National Taipei University's Institute of Natural Resource Management, a Council for Economic Planning and Development official said yesterday.
“Taiwan was included in the global analysis for the first time in 2008. The report can help the country better understand the effectiveness of its policy on cutting carbon-dioxide emissions and boosting energy savings,” the official said.
Citing a lack of will among countries to engage themselves more strongly to prevent climate change, the report did not award the top three places in the global rankings to any country.
That would put Taiwan in 29th position among the 57 countries in the list, which together were responsible for 90 percent of annual carbon-dioxide emissions worldwide.
Sweden, Germany and France placed fourth, fifth and sixth respectively. Sweden, Germany and Iceland ranked in the top three in 2007, it said.
“Not a single country is to be judged as satisfactory with regard to protecting the climate. The specific criterion for this judgment is that, compared with 1990, no country is yet on the path that would be necessary to stay within the 2 degrees limit,” the report said.
Taiwan's third place spot in Asia put it ahead of Singapore (38), South Korea (41), Japan (43) and China (49), but behind India (7) and Indonesia (27).
Among the 12 different indicators which were classified into three categories — emissions trends, emissions levels and climate policy — to measure its performance, Taiwan was given full marks for renewable energy emissions but ranked poorly in primary energy units per capita, carbon dioxide per primary energy unit, electricity, and manufacturing and construction.
Looking at the other end of the index, Saudi Arabia placed last in the evaluation chart, the CCPI report said, adding that Austria (50), Russia (54), the US (58) and Canada (59) also had worrying results, performing poorly in terms of current emissions levels, emissions trends and in the evaluation of their climate policies.
Introduced to a professional audience for the first time at the 11th Global Climate Summit in Montreal in 2005, the CCPI is presented every year at the UN Climate Change Conference to draw as much attention as possible in the observed countries and promote discussions on climate change.
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
The Sports Administration yesterday demanded an apology from the national table tennis association for barring 17-year-old Yeh Yi-tian (葉伊恬) from competing in the upcoming World Table Tennis (WTT) United States Smash tournament in Las Vegas this July. The sports agency said in a statement that the Chinese Taipei Table Tennis Association (CTTTA) must explain to the public why it withdrew Yeh from the WTT tournament in Las Vegas. The sports agency said it contacted the association to express its disapproval of the decision-making process after receiving a complaint from Yeh’s coach, Chuang
Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) tendered his resignation last night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by media. His resignation was immediately accepted by the Control Yuan. In a statement explaining why he had resigned, Lee apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon on May 20. The issue first came to light late last month, when TVBS News reported that Lee had instructed his driver to take the dog to the salon. The news channel broadcast photos that it said were taken by an unnamed whistle-blower, which purportedly showed the
A former officer in China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) who witnessed the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre has warned that Taiwan could face a similar fate if China attempts to unify the country by force. Li Xiaoming (李曉明), who was deployed to Beijing as a junior officer during the crackdown, said Taiwanese people should study the massacre carefully, because it offers a glimpse of what Beijing is willing to do to suppress dissent. “What happened in Tiananmen Square could happen in Taiwan too,” Li told CNA in a May 22 interview, ahead of the massacre’s 36th anniversary. “If Taiwanese students or