The strong earthquake that struck Sichuan Province and the tropical cyclone that hit Myanmar impressed two facts upon our hearts: Natural disasters know no mercy and life is fragile. For almost two weeks, the global media have transmitted this thought to every corner of the world. The news about a woman who was rescued nine days after the disaster was not only recounted throughout the Chinese-speaking world, it was told in many different languages. Many people asked themselves: What about me? What would happen to me?
If the 921 Earthquake educated the Taiwanese, then the disaster in China is setting off a brainwashing movement on an enormous scale all over the world. The situation now is much like the situation just after the Sept. 11 attacks in the US that shocked the world and motivated many countries to keep a closer watch for terrorist actions and tighten their national security and defense systems. Earthquakes, torrential rains, storms and tsunamis can threaten anyone’s safety at any moment, and extensive media coverage makes everyone wonder if they are prepared for the threat of these disasters.
Of the many natural threats, only global warming has been recognized by a majority of scientists internationally. Signs of this are increasing, like the increasing force and frequency of hurricanes in the northern Pacific Ocean and the shortening of rainy periods all over the world, while the number of record-breaking rainfalls is increasing. The influence of carbon dioxide emissions has been identified as a key factor in this process.
Therefore, it is important that countries contribute to the establishment of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol, to control emission of greenhouse gases, stabilize climate change and reduce the occurrence of unusual climate disasters. But climate change appears unstoppable. Global temperatures will rise by at least 0.6 degrees in this century, so apart from taking action to control emissions of greenhouse gases for the sake of the next generation, we also need to adapt to the changing climate.
The Kyoto Protocol includes an Adaptation Fund, established to help developing countries, that can provide the funds needed to proceed with the construction of a variety of basic facilities necessary for adapting to increasingly violent storms like the one that hit Myanmar. The fund’s budget doesn’t come from individual countries. Instead, developed nations have to allocate a fixed proportion to the fund from projects within the three flexible mechanisms part of the Kyoto Protocol, such as the Clean Development Mechanism, to be recognized under the protocol.
The Climate Security Act that the US Congress passed is partly similar to Taiwan’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Act (溫室氣體減量法), but it also provides for the establishment of an Adaptation Fund.
Countries cannot depend on public donations or a government emergency reserve fund for disaster relief and reconstruction every time a disaster strikes. Government deficits and corrupt politicians can damage a country’s ability to handle disasters. Therefore, when a government takes measures to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases, the principle of quantity control says it has to promote flexible measures such as emissions trade, and for every emission trade or case that requires the agreement of another party, it must donate a certain percentage of the proceeds to the Adaptation Fund.
There is much the government can do. The Greenhouse Gas Reduction Act should be amended to a national climate security act. An Adaptation Fund should also be initiated.
Liu Chung-ming is director of the Global Change Research Center of National Taiwan University.
Translated by Anna Stiggelbout
A failure by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to respond to Israel’s brilliant 12-day (June 12-23) bombing and special operations war against Iran, topped by US President Donald Trump’s ordering the June 21 bombing of Iranian deep underground nuclear weapons fuel processing sites, has been noted by some as demonstrating a profound lack of resolve, even “impotence,” by China. However, this would be a dangerous underestimation of CCP ambitions and its broader and more profound military response to the Trump Administration — a challenge that includes an acceleration of its strategies to assist nuclear proxy states, and developing a wide array
Twenty-four Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers are facing recall votes on Saturday, prompting nearly all KMT officials and lawmakers to rally their supporters over the past weekend, urging them to vote “no” in a bid to retain their seats and preserve the KMT’s majority in the Legislative Yuan. The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which had largely kept its distance from the civic recall campaigns, earlier this month instructed its officials and staff to support the recall groups in a final push to protect the nation. The justification for the recalls has increasingly been framed as a “resistance” movement against China and
Jaw Shaw-kong (趙少康), former chairman of Broadcasting Corp of China and leader of the “blue fighters,” recently announced that he had canned his trip to east Africa, and he would stay in Taiwan for the recall vote on Saturday. He added that he hoped “his friends in the blue camp would follow his lead.” His statement is quite interesting for a few reasons. Jaw had been criticized following media reports that he would be traveling in east Africa during the recall vote. While he decided to stay in Taiwan after drawing a lot of flak, his hesitation says it all: If
Saturday is the day of the first batch of recall votes primarily targeting lawmakers of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT). The scale of the recall drive far outstrips the expectations from when the idea was mooted in January by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘). The mass recall effort is reminiscent of the Sunflower movement protests against the then-KMT government’s non-transparent attempts to push through a controversial cross-strait service trade agreement in 2014. That movement, initiated by students, civic groups and non-governmental organizations, included student-led protesters occupying the main legislative chamber for three weeks. The two movements are linked
RSS