Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) Minister Stephen Shen (沈世宏) yesterday said that scrapping nuclear power would not only make carbon reduction goals nearly impossible to achieve, but also risked increasing carbon emissions.
Reporting on the EPA’s efforts to establish a low-carbon sustainable homeland at the legislature’s Social Welfare and Environmental Hygiene Committee, Shen was repeatedly asked to discuss the impact of abolishing nuclear power and for his opinion on nuclear power policies.
“Of course everyone would be very happy if we could abolish nuclear power immediately, but from the perspective of achieving carbon reduction goals, it is an impossible task,” he said, adding that the immediate abolition of nuclear power and the generation of all power from sustainable energy are both “romantic ideals.”
Taiwan’s goal and commitment to the world is to reduce carbon emissions to the level of 2005 by 2020 and the level of 2000 by 2025, which would necessitate a reduction in carbon emissions of about 80 million tonnes, he said.
If the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant does not go into operation and is replaced with coal-fired power plants, total emissions would need to be cut by about 97 million tonnes, he said, adding that even if natural gas power plants were opened there would still be an increase in carbon emissions of about 12 million tonnes and costs would be higher than for coal-powered plants.
He said that while wind power and solar power are said to be environmentally friendly, sustainable energy sources and good alternatives to nuclear or fossil fuel power, more investment in facilities would be needed to increase the stability of wind power transmission and storage, and the cost of solar power is relatively high.
Claiming to have no preset stance for or against nuclear power, Shen said: “From a scientific point of view, the risks from climate change are more serious than from nuclear power. Climate change is hard to control, but nuclear power can be controlled to an extent.”
He said the issues of the abolition of nuclear power plants and carbon reduction can be decided by whether people are willing to reduce electricity consumption, and that various risks should be compared and discussed rationally before the referendum takes place.
A NT$39 receipt for two bottles of tea at a FamilyMart was among the NT$10 million (US $312,969) special prize winners in the January-February uniform invoice lottery. FamilyMart said that two NT$10 million-winning receipts were issued at its stores, as well as two NT$2 million grand prizes and three NT$200,000 first prizes. The two NT$10 million receipts were issued at stores in Pingtung County and Yilan County’s Dongshan Township (冬山). One winner spent just NT$39 on two bottles of tea, while another spent NT$80 on water, tea and coffee, the company said. Meanwhile, 7-Eleven reported three NT$10 million winners — in New Taipei
Considering that most countries issue more than five denominations of banknotes, the central bank has decided to redesign all five denominations, the bank said as it prepares for the first major overhaul of the banknotes in more than 24 years. Central bank Governor Yang Chin-lung (楊金龍) is expected to report to the Legislative Yuan today on the bank’s operations and the redesign’s progress. The bank in a report sent to the legislature ahead of today’s meeting said it had commissioned a survey on the public’s preferences. Survey results showed that NT$100 and NT$1,000 banknotes are the most commonly used, while NT$200 and NT$2,000
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday reported the first case of a new COVID-19 subvariant — BA.3.2 — in a 10-year-old Singaporean girl who had a fever upon arrival in Taiwan and tested positive for the disease. The girl left Taiwan on March 20 and the case did not have a direct impact on the local community, it said. The WHO added the BA.3.2 strain to its list of Variants Under Monitoring in December last year, but this was the first imported case of the COVID-19 variant in Taiwan, CDC Deputy Director-General Lin Ming-cheng (林明誠) said. The girl arrived in Taiwan on
ANNUAL EVENT: Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in Daan Park, with an event zone operating from 10am to 6pm This year’s Taipei Floral Picnic is to be held at Daan Park today and tomorrow, featuring an exclusive Pokemon Go event, a themed food market, a coffee rave picnic area and stage performances, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said yesterday. Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in the park as attractions, with an exclusive event zone operating from 10am to 6pm, it said. Participants who complete designated tasks on-site would have a chance to receive limited-edition souvenirs, it added. People could also try the newly launched game Pokemon Pokopia in the trial area, the department said. Three PokeStops are
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