More than 30 groups in Taipei today are to call on the government to declare a “climate emergency” over climate change.
Groups committed to clean environmental initiatives, including Air Clean Taiwan, the Taiwan Renewable Energy Alliance and the Homemakers’ United Foundation, announced details of a march at a news conference at the Legislative Yuan on Wednesday.
Participants are to gather on Zhongshan S Road in front of the Legislative Yuan at 1pm before marching on a route past other central government buildings, including the Executive Yuan and Control Yuan, the groups said.
They would call on the government, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and other presidential hopefuls to pay more attention to climate issues that pose a threat to national security, the groups said.
They would call on the central and local governments, and the legislature to declare a climate emergency and ask the government not to conceal the truth about climate change, but rather face it and act on the problem alongside Taiwanese.
They also demanded carbon reductions to achieve carbon neutrality in Taiwan by 2050.
The central and local governments should hold separate climate conferences for young people, women, senior citizens, Aborigines, new residents, farmers, fishers and other laborers — groups identified as at particular risk from climate change — within three months.
A national climate conference should be held within five months, the groups added.
The march is to coincide with an international movement calling for immediate action to address “the climate emergency,” the groups said.
Legislators Liu Chien-kuo (劉建國) of the Democratic Progressive Party, Arthur Chen (陳宜民) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Hsu Yung-ming (徐永明) of the New Power Party attended the news conference.
Liu, chair of the Legislative Yuan’s Social Welfare, Health and Environmental Affairs Committee, said that climate change is worsening in Yunlin County, where he is from, as it faces land subsidence and other agricultural threats.
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