A carbon tax, an energy tax and a ceiling on carbon dioxide emissions are all indispensable measures to reduce greenhouse emissions, Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) Minister Stephen Shen (沈世宏) said yesterday
“I hope the Executive Yuan will propose an energy tax bill as soon as possible so that the legislature can push through the bill and a greenhouse gas reduction draft by the next legislative session,” Shen told reporters at a press conference.
When the legislative session came to a close on Tuesday, the greenhouse gas reduction draft act had still not cleared the floor, despite promises from President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九).
“Environmental protection groups and the Democratic Progressive Party had hoped to be able to include a greenhouse gas reduction target in the bill, which [the Executive Yuan] did not agree to. The DPP said it would rather wait and review the bill after the climate change talks scheduled for December in Copenhagen,” Shen said.
Some opponents of the greenhouse gas draft legislation considered it to have a lower priority than enacting an energy tax bill, Shen said, adding that the EPA disagreed with that view.
“Experiences in many European countries have shown that a cap on greenhouse gas emissions and the introduction of carbon and energy taxes complement each other. They serve different purposes and are targeted at different groups,” Shen said.
A carbon trading system, to be established once the greenhouse gas reduction draft act is passed, would be effective in forcing big polluters to reduce emissions, while the introduction of an energy tax would be aimed at encouraging individuals to save energy, he said.
The carbon tax was mainly designed to encourage businesses to reduce emissions, Shen said.
Taiwan would benefit from more integrated military strategies and deployments if the US and its allies treat the East China Sea, the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea as a “single theater of operations,” a Taiwanese military expert said yesterday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a researcher at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said he made the assessment after two Japanese military experts warned of emerging threats from China based on a drill conducted this month by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Eastern Theater Command. Japan Institute for National Fundamentals researcher Maki Nakagawa said the drill differed from the
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his
A rally held by opposition parties yesterday demonstrates that Taiwan is a democratic country, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that if opposition parties really want to fight dictatorship, they should fight it on Tiananmen Square in Beijing. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) held a protest with the theme “against green communists and dictatorship,” and was joined by the Taiwan People’s Party. Lai said the opposition parties are against what they called the “green communists,” but do not fight against the “Chinese communists,” adding that if they really want to fight dictatorship, they should go to the right place and face
A 79-year-old woman died today after being struck by a train at a level crossing in Taoyuan, police said. The woman, identified by her surname Wang (王), crossed the tracks even though the barriers were down in Jhongli District’s (中壢) Neili (內壢) area, the Taoyuan Branch of the Railway Police Bureau said. Surveillance footage showed that the railway barriers were lowered when Wang entered the crossing, but why she ventured onto the track remains under investigation, the police said. Police said they received a report of an incident at 6:41am involving local train No. 2133 that was heading from Keelung to Chiayi City. Investigators
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