Nine of the nation’s diplomatic allies spoke out against Taiwan’s exclusion at a major international climate change conference earlier this month, a top Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) official who was in Poland during the meeting said yesterday.
The nine that spoke up for Taiwan during the 24th Conference of the Parties (COP24) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) were Kiribati, Nauru, eSwatini, Tuvalu, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Honduras, the Solomon Islands and Haiti, Acting EPA Minister Tsai Hung-teh (蔡鴻德) said.
Fifteen of the nation’s 17 allies also sent a letter to the organizers of the conference saying that Taiwan should not be excluded from the meeting and supporting Taiwan’s substantial participation in COP24, Tsai said at a news conference after returning to Taiwan.
The only two allies that did not sign the letter were the Vatican, which generally abstains from mentioning Taiwan at international gatherings, and Guatemala.
Taiwan is not a member of the UN and has been blocked by China from engaging in its many organizations and institutions, including participation in meetings related to the UNFCCC.
Although Taiwan was not allowed to take part in the COP24, Tsai headed a delegation of more than 60 representatives from different agencies that was in Poland to meet with participants on the sidelines of the conference.
The delegation held 38 bilateral meetings with representatives from its diplomatic allies and Taiwan-friendly nations, and also met with Tuvalu’s prime minister, environmental ministers and parliamentarians from several countries, Tsai said.
The group also highlighted Taiwan’s carbon reduction efforts in the energy, manufacturing, transportation, real estate, agricultural and environmental sectors, he said.
During the conference, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs also placed billboard advertisements on trams bearing the words “Combating climate change, Taiwan can help” to showcase Taiwan’s soft power, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Kelly Hsieh (謝武樵) said at the news conference.
The COP24 in Katowice, which attracted 18,000 delegates from around the world, concluded on Sunday with the adoption of a deadline for hashing out the Paris Agreement “rule book,” the operating manual needed for when the global deal comes into force in 2020.
However, participants did not reach a consensus on increasing targets for reducing carbon emissions and on carbon emissions trading issues, Tsai said.
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