In the documentary An Inconvenient Truth, former US vice president Al Gore states that global warming exists and poses a growing threat, a viewpoint that was endorsed by Brussels-based scientists.
If Gore and the scientists are right -- and a growing body of evidence suggests that they are -- no nation will be able to escape the threat posed by global warming, including Taiwan.
Statistics published by the International Energy Agency show that the nation contributes 1 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions and that yearly per capita carbon emissions amount to nearly 12 tonnes. Though far less than the average of 20 tonnes emitted by each person in the US, the figure is still three times higher than the international average and Taiwan's continued industrial development has caused overall carbon emissions to continue rising.
Greenhouse gas emissions intensify climatic changes, with the result that temperatures spike sharply in summer and fall to new lows in winter. In the future, Taiwan is more likely to face droughts, shrinking lakes and severe flooding.
The nation faces the additional difficulty of being excluded from many international organizations. The inability to exchange information with other nations in such organizations will make the effort to combat global warming much more difficult.
Taiwanese realize the threat that climate change poses, but concrete responses here have been limited. There is still a lack of knowledge about how to best conserve resources and reduce carbon emissions. Many have not made an effort to change their lifestyles through increasing the use of renewable resources and relying less on finite resources.
To prompt more people to take action, the government and private groups should spread awareness about global warming and initiate a new wave of environmental protection efforts.
Although the nation is not a signatory to the Kyoto Protocol, the government promised to set a policy in line with the protocol's suggestions. However, like so many other laws, a proposed law to reduce greenhouse gases is still stalled in the legislature, and without legal authority, the Environmental Protection Agency is powerless to change much.
This is especially alarming because the latest figures show that the Kyoto Protocol's recommendations are too limited to reduce global warming. Thus, as the world searches for an effective standard for greenhouse gas emissions, the nation must ensure that it keeps up with the pack.
Instead, the government is actively promoting the construction of the energy-hungry Seventh Naphtha Cracker (
Instead of concentrating on these "smokestack" industries, the government must forge a compromise between economic development and environmental protection. Domestic industrial policies must be adjusted to so that both environmental protection and economic development can be sustained.
Simply put, there is no future for life without an adequate environment. To avoid the increasing likelihood of environmental catastrophe, we must make sacrifices, including changing our current lifestyles and production methods.
The nation lacks the commitment to deal with global warming. In such a vacuum, the government is the only force that can spur the public and industry into action before it is too late.
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