Legislators aim to pass an ambitious bill that would return the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions to pre-2000 levels by making factories clean up or pay, officials said on Tuesday.
The greenhouse reduction act, which stalled after being introduced in the legislature in February last year because of industry opposition, passed the first round of voting in December and is seen moving toward a final vote late this year.
CARBON TRADING
The bill would also authorize the nation’s first carbon dioxide emissions trading system, eventually allowing factories that cannot cut back to buy credits locally or overseas, said Yang Ching-shi (楊慶熙), the director-general of the Environmental Protection Administration’s (EPA) department of supervision evaluation and dispute resolution.
There was no set date for trading to start, Yang said.
The bill was introduced by the Democratic Progressive Party caucus when it was in power and has won overall support from the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT).
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) has said he wants the nation’s annual carbon dioxide emissions to fall to 214 million tonnes by 2025 and reach half that by 2050, Yang said.
Without stronger industry regulation, Taiwan will not be able to reach these aims despite various efforts, including stalling some key energy-related projects, Yang said.
“We want to be a member of the global community, so we hope the bill goes through. We will work hard toward this goal, but the challenges are tough,” Yang said.
In 2006, the International Energy Agency ranked Taiwan 22nd in the world for fuel-based carbon dioxide emissions at 270 million tonnes per annum. It was No. 16 in terms of per-capita emissions, higher than Japan and South Korea.
UPGRADE
If the bill passes in its strictest form, the government would require factories and vehicles to upgrade emissions-reduction technologies, hitting cash-strapped small to medium-sized companies hardest.
The government would offer expertise but not money for upgrades.
Some KMT lawmakers want the bill softened to avoid further hurting the nation’s already recession-hit economy, a party caucus representative said.
NATIONAL SECURITY: Authorities are working to confirm the identities of the military personnel involved and investigating possible illegal conduct and regulatory violations Authorities are probing possible national security implications after Kinmen police and immigration officers on Sunday found a Chinese woman allegedly posing as a tourist while engaging in prostitution involving more than 10 military personnel. The woman, surnamed Chen (陳), has since been deported, authorities said, adding that investigators are still working to confirm the identities of those implicated, as the records only listed code names and aliases. The case stemmed from a report received by the Kinmen District Prosecutors’ Office on Friday last week from the Jinhu Precinct of the Kinmen County Police Bureau. On Sunday, police, along with the National Immigration
REASONS FOR TRAVEL: An assistant professor said that proposed amendments to penalize drivers if they used drugs overseas would not deter people from traveling People who operate a motor vehicle under the influence of marijuana would have their driver’s license revoked, even if they used the substance while overseas, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday, citing proposed amendments to the Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act (道路交通管理處罰條例). The amendments would also authorize the government to revoke the licenses of people determined to have used Category 1 or Category 2 narcotics, even if they were not operating a vehicle while under the influence of drugs, as well as ban them from taking the license test for three years, the ministry said. People aged 18 or
GLOBALGIVING: ‘ Caving to external pressure is not acceptable for an organization that has cultivated justice reform and human rights for 30 years,’ one NGO said A slew of non-government organizations (NGOs) have withdrawn from the GlobalGiving fundraising platform after it announced it would use “Chinese Taipei” instead of “Taiwan” from next month. The Taiwan Good Rice Association wrote on Facebook on Friday that it was informed on April 28 via a teleconference call of the change, which was made because the platform wanted to operate in China. Taiwan Good Rice is to terminate all cooperative relationships with GlobalGiving in response to the platform’s “unilateral and non-negotiable” decision to remove references to Taiwan, the NGO said. “Taiwan is in the official name of Taiwan Good Rice Association and the
HEAVY WEATHER: Typhoon Jangmi is due to crash straight into the Ryukyus as airlines look to shift flights to larger aircraft or cancel flights to Okinawa entirely Taiwan’s international air carriers announced flight adjustments over the weekend as Typhoon Jangmi is forecast to hit the Ryukyu Islands today and tomorrow. The Central Weather Administration (CWA) upgraded Jangmi from a tropical storm to a typhoon at 8am yesterday, with the eye located 580km south of Naha city. It was moving north at 19kph. Today, China Airlines’ CI-120, CI-121, CI-122 and CI-123 flights between Taoyuan and Naha, Okinawa, have been canceled as well as CI-132 and CI-133 between Kaohsiung and Naha. EVA Air’s BR-112, BR-113, BR-186 and BR-185 flights between Taoyuan and Naha are also canceled. Low-cost carrier Tigerair Taiwan canceled IT-230,
RSS