Civic groups and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers yesterday called on the government to step up efforts to fight air pollution after Taiwan placed seventh in the 2018 Global Climate Risk Index published by the non-profit organization Germanwatch.
Taiwan ranked 51st out of 182 countries worldwide last year in the index, which was presented at the 23rd Conference of Parties of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in Bonn, Germany, this week.
Environmental Protection Administration Minister Lee Ying-yuan (李應元) and the legislators accompanying him on the trip to the conference were blocked from attending the conference due to pressure from China, DPP Legislator Liu Chien-kuo (劉建國) said, calling on participating nations at the conference to support Taiwanese engagement on the issue of global climate change.
Photo: CNA
Liu also urged Premier William Lai (賴清德) to follow through on the government’s plan to cut back on coal production, citing the importance of reducing energy consumption domestically and transitioning to alternative sources of energy.
DPP Legislator Huang Hsiu-fang (黃秀芳) agreed, pointing to the worsening air quality in Changhua County in recent years and drawing attention to the potential health risks associated with air pollution.
DPP Legislator Hung Tsung-yi (洪宗熠) also called for more concrete steps to reduce coal production, saying he hoped the central government would not leave local government leaders alone in the battle to prevent air pollution.
Air Clean Taiwan director Yeh Guang-perng (葉光芃) questioned the productivity of the Executive Yuan’s Office of Energy and Carbon Reduction, saying that even China — known as a big producer of carbon emissions — ranked lower than Taiwan in the Global Climate Risk Index.
The government should not just plan actions, but also execute them, Yeh said.
Office of Energy and Carbon Reduction official Huang Ching-ming (黃錦明) rebutted allegations that the office has done nothing.
“There have been many meetings on key measures [to fight pollution] and the office has assisted related departments on reducing energy consumption and coal production,” Huang said.
It takes time for some plans to demonstrate their impact, he said.
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