Opposition lawmakers on Friday fast-tracked two bills that would expand local governments’ authority over industrial air pollution, despite warnings from government agencies and business groups that the changes could affect energy supplies and economic activity.
The amendment bills “could broadly affect power supply stability and the economy,” the Ministry of Economic Affairs said in a statement on Friday, urging lawmakers not to ignore concerns raised by the ministry and other stakeholders.
At Friday’s plenary session, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) used their majority to pull the Air Pollution Control Act (空氣污染防制法) amendments from committee review and send them to a floor vote if no consensus is reached within a month.
Photo courtesy of the Taichung City Government
The ministry said it “deeply regretted” the rush to review the law, warning it could disrupt operations of about 8,000 companies, citing proposed changes to installation and operating permit rules for stationary pollution sources.
Under the bills introduced by opposition lawmakers, permit validity would be cut to two to five years, or two years in heavily polluted Class III zones, from the current three to five years.
The bills also add a provision invalidating permits if holders fail to secure approval from local or central agencies within two months, a requirement not in current law.
The ministry warned the changes could suspend operations if permits are not approved and raise administrative costs, hurting economic development.
Taiwan has about 8,000 companies holding 13,000 permits across the power, solar, petrochemical, cement and steel sectors, as well as boilers, which account for 60 percent of all permits, the Ministry of Environment said.
Boilers in hospitals, hotels and restaurants could be affected if the bills are passed, Minister of Environment Peng Chi-ming (彭啟明) was quoted as saying in April.
Additionally, the ministry called provisions proposed which would allow local governments to restrict certain fuels and require businesses to adjust emissions volume and concentration, “controversial.”
Chinese National Federation of Industries (全國工業總會) secretary-general Leua Jang-hwa (呂正華) said the amendments would hit energy supply and industrial operations, while adding uncertainty for businesses.
KMT Legislator Lo Ting-wei (羅廷瑋), who is from Taichung, home to the heavily polluting Taichung Power Plant, was quoted by local media as saying that the bills were meant to give local governments “tools” to regulate air pollution.
Lo said the amendments would be a first step toward phasing out coal at Taichung Power Plant by 2028 as gas-fired capacity expands, referring to a goal in an opposition-backed resolution the legislature passed in June last year that the government opposed.
The non-binding resolution called for all 10 coal-fired units at the Taichung plant to be decommissioned by 2028, six years ahead of the government’s 2034 target, with the ministry warning of energy supply risks and reduced high-tech investment.
Cairo’s new monorail slices across the city skyline, running above the familiar chaos of blaring horns and aging buses’ exhaust fumes that mark rush hour below. The US$4.5 billion monorail, opened this month, is among Egypt’s most prominent new transport projects, part of a debt-funded infrastructure drive criticized for sapping state finances while bringing limited benefits to most of the country’s 109 million people. “It feels like you’re in a different country,” said Ramy Sayed, a restaurant manager, aboard a driverless Innovia 300 train. “No noise, no traffic, we’re not used to this.” The eastern line runs 56km from the bustling middle-class
Starlux Airlines Co (星宇航空) today unveiled a long-haul network expansion plan at a shareholders’ meeting in Taipei, including direct flights to Barcelona, Spain, and Zurich, Switzerland, as well as a service connecting Taipei, Sydney and New Zealand. Starlux is to become the first Taiwanese carrier to offer non-stop services to the two European cities, while the inaugural oceanic route is expected to expand transit opportunities within the Australia-New Zealand market, Starlux said. Flight services to Chicago, Dallas, Washington and New York are under evaluation, the airline added. Prior to the shareholders’ meeting, the airline earlier this year announced that it would be
Netherlands-based semiconductor equipment supplier ASML Holding NV yesterday said that it is planning to hire an additional 1,000 people in Taiwan this year in response to growing demand from clients. ASML had previously planned to recruit 600 people this year, but that the plan has been adjusted upward, ASML vice president and ASML Taiwan general manager Grace Wang (汪佳慧) told reporters. ASML has a workforce of more than 4,500 in Taiwan, accounting for about 10 percent of its global total, Wang said. This year’s recruitment campaign would focus on adding people in the customer support, manufacturing and supply chain domains to assist ASML
Nvidia Corp yesterday announced that CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) would attend an employee meeting in Taipei tomorrow to celebrate the launch of the company’s Taiwan headquarters project. Huang would attend a gathering at the site of Nvidia’s planned headquarters in Beitou Shilin Technology Park (北投士林科技園區), the company said in a statement. After arriving in Taiwan on Saturday last week, Huang told reporters that he plans to meet with Quanta Computer Inc (廣達) chairman Barry Lam (林百里) and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家), and would attend the groundbreaking ceremony for Nvidia’s Taiwan headquarters tomorrow. Nvidia has not yet applied
RSS