Two leading experts on climate change studies, James Edward Hansen and Veerabhadran Ramanathan, have won the third Tang Prize in Sustainable Development, the Tang Prize Foundation said yesterday.
Academia Sinica academician Liu Chao-han (劉兆漢) made the announcement at a news conference in Taipei, which was hosted by foundation chief executive Chern Jenn-chuan (陳振川).
With their seminal studies on climate science, Hansen and Ramanathan have had great effects on global academia as well as human society, Liu said.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
Hansen developed one of the world’s first two global three-dimensional climate models and was the first to compile temperature records from around the world, Academia Sinica academician Shaw Liu (劉紹臣) said when explaining Hansen’s contributions to climate change science.
Born in Iowa in the US in 1941, Hansen directs the Program on Climate Science, Awareness and Solutions at the Earth Institute of Columbia University and headed the Goddard Institute for Space Studies at NASA from 1981 to 2013.
Despite relentless pressure from government officials and meteorologists who do not believe in the existence of climate change, Hansen continues to sound the alert on climate change and push for policies for its mitigation, Shaw Liu said.
Ramanathan drew the public’s attention to the global warming effects of pollutants other than carbon dioxide, such as chlorofluorocarbons and atmospheric blown clouds, he said.
Born in Chennai (formerly Madras), India, in 1944, Ramanathan is director of the Center for Clouds, Chemistry and Climate at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego.
Ramanathan has promoted many projects to reduce black carbon, ozone, methane and soot in rural India, and inspired a 50-nation campaign to reduce the use of non-carbon dioxide pollutants, Shaw Liu said.
Asked what Taiwan could do to mitigate the effects of climate change, Liu Chao-han and Shaw Liu said the nation lacks a systematic and long-term policy to combat climate change.
The nation should work harder to reduce carbon emissions and fossil-fuel burning, and consider delaying its timetable for phasing out nuclear energy — scheduled for 2025 — to allow more time for green energy development, Liu Chao-han said.
Shaw Liu said the government should collect a carbon tax, adding that it would benefit society.
An award ceremony is to be held on Sept. 21 at the National Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall in Taipei and the laureates are to give a series of lectures at universities across Taiwan from Sept. 25 to Sept. 27.
Each winner would receive a NT$40 million (US$1.3 million) prize and a research subsidy of NT$10 million, the foundation said.
The foundation, set up by Ruentex Group chairman Samuel Yin (尹衍樑) in 2012, presents awards for sustainable development, biopharmaceutical science, Sinology and rule of law every two years.
TRAFFIC SAFETY RULES: A positive result in a drug test would result in a two-year license suspension for the driver and vehicle, and a fine of up to NT$180,000 The Ministry of Transportation and Communications is to authorize police to conduct roadside saliva tests by the end of the year to deter people from driving while under the influence of narcotics, it said yesterday. The ministry last month unveiled a draft of amended regulations governing traffic safety rules and penalties, which included provisions empowering police to conduct mandatory saliva tests on drivers. While currently rules authorize police to use oral fluid testing kits for signs of drug use, they do not establish penalties for noncompliance or operating procedures for officers to follow, the ministry said. The proposed changes to the regulations require
The Executive Yuan yesterday announced that registration for a one-time universal NT$10,000 cash handout to help people in Taiwan survive US tariffs and inflation would start on Nov. 5, with payouts available as early as Nov. 12. Who is eligible for the handout? Registered Taiwanese nationals are eligible, including those born in Taiwan before April 30 next year with a birth certificate. Non-registered nationals with residence permits, foreign permanent residents and foreign spouses of Taiwanese citizens with residence permits also qualify for the handouts. For people who meet the eligibility requirements, but passed away between yesterday and April 30 next year, surviving family members
Taiwanese officials are courting podcasters and influencers aligned with US President Donald Trump as they grow more worried the US leader could undermine Taiwanese interests in talks with China, people familiar with the matter said. Trump has said Taiwan would likely be on the agenda when he is expected to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) next week in a bid to resolve persistent trade tensions. China has asked the White House to officially declare it “opposes” Taiwanese independence, Bloomberg reported last month, a concession that would mark a major diplomatic win for Beijing. President William Lai (賴清德) and his top officials
The German city of Hamburg on Oct. 14 named a bridge “Kaohsiung-Brucke” after the Taiwanese city of Kaohsiung. The footbridge, formerly known as F566, is to the east of the Speicherstadt, the world’s largest warehouse district, and connects the Dar-es-Salaam-Platz to the Brooktorpromenade near the Port of Hamburg on the Elbe River. Timo Fischer, a Free Democratic Party member of the Hamburg-Mitte District Assembly, in May last year proposed the name change with support from members of the Social Democratic Party and the Christian Democratic Union. Kaohsiung and Hamburg in 1999 inked a sister city agreement, but despite more than a quarter-century of
RSS