Limiting global warming to a 2°C rise as agreed by some countries at the UN Copenhagen climate summit would pose significant difficulties for Taiwan, the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) said, and the nation will abide by the accord although it is neither a signatory nor a UN member.
The two-and-a-half-page Copenhagen Accord was only reached after a frantic eleventh-hour deal between the US, China, India, Brazil and South Africa, which supporters called a blueprint for a wider deal that could come in February.
For it to be accepted as an official UN agreement, it would need to be endorsed by all 193 nations at the conference, which had not yet happened at press time, however, the summit chair forced a deal through using a procedural tool.
NON-BINDING
The contents of the deal include a non-binding commitment to limit temperature increases to 2°C above pre-industrial levels — or another 1.3°C above current temperature levels.
Developed nations are also required to transfer US$10 billion annually over three years to help developing nations cope with the effects of climate change. The agreement states that the goal is to increase this amount to US$100 billion annually by 2020.
NINETY PERCENT CUT
In an interview with the Central News Agency (CNA), EPA Minister Stephen Shen (沈世宏) said that domestic carbon emissions would have to be cut by between 80 percent and 90 percent to meet the limit of a 2°C increase.
This would mean that annual per capita emissions would have to be lowered to just 1 tonne from the present 11.17 tonnes.
To do this, he said that the legislature would first have to pass the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Act (溫室氣體減量法), which has been stalled since 2006.
GUIDELINES
Although the nation was not a signatory to the agreement, Taiwan would abide by guidelines set out for developed countries, including a significant reduction in emissions by 2020, Shen said.
He said that although the agreement lacks firm initiatives, he believed it was a good start as both China and the US — currently the world’s two largest carbon emitters – have committed to the agreement.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY AFP
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