Following a recently expired plan to use container ships and passenger aircraft to monitor greenhouse gas emissions, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said yesterday that a similar project could start early next year.
Officials said the project, which is currently in the bidding process, works by outfitting container ships and aircraft with equipment to collect climate change data in parts of the Pacific Ocean that have previously been neglected.
The data will be shared with institutions in the EU to demonstrate the nation’s commitment as a serious partner in combating global warming, officials said.
“Much of the EU data has been collected from [oceans other] than the Pacific Ocean. Because of Taiwan’s location, we can do our part in helping the EU gather information from parts of the Pacific,” said Chien Hui-jhen (簡慧貞), an EPA official who deals with greenhouse gas emissions.
In addition to the benefits of better understanding carbon dioxide emissions, the government hopes the plan can increase the nation’s exposure on the international stage, the EPA said.
Furthermore, the EPA said the plan would help the nation avoid being marginalized in global climate change talks.
Government representatives have not been invited to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) taking place next month in Copenhagen. Instead, agencies will attend under the name of the Industrial Technology Research Institute, a non-governmental organization.
The EPA said equipment will be installed on ships running routes in the Pacific to Indian Ocean and Pacific to Atlantic Ocean.
The EPA said the data these gathered by these ships would be important, as there is a lack of data from those areas.
The project will also collaborate with the EU’s In-Service Aircraft for a Global Observing System project to install instruments on commercial aircraft to monitor atmospheric composition and aerosols and gather data, along with other projects from the US and Japan.
Chien said the project was part of the government’s ongoing efforts to learn more about and fight global warming.
Statistics from the EPA show that although Taiwan’s 4.1 percent reduction in emissions last year was the first since 1991, the country still ranks among the world’s top 20 polluters in terms of carbon dioxide emissions per capita and contributes around 1 percent of worldwide emissions.
The World Meteorological Organization warned earlier this week that carbon emissions are at their highest ever-recorded levels and continue to rise.
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