Carbon reduction plan
This is a brief response to the letter by Flora Faun (Letter, Feb. 9, page 8).
When dealing with issues that affect humanity such as climate change, we need to remind ourselves that none of us live in a vacuum.
In the first decade of this century, the UN tried a top-down approach in its attempt to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, assigning different targets for each country; however, the US chose not to ratify the Kyoto Protocol.
The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change later decided to take a bottom-up approach for the sake of practicality and flexibility. Under this framework, each member voluntarily commits to achieving a self-established target within a certain timeframe.
The main difference between the old and new approach is that the former was prescriptive, whereas the latter is voluntary. This difference makes the new approach more promising.
By the same token, Taiwan has adopted this principle in dealing with our energy portfolio. Solutions and measures of significance should be arrived at through discussions among all stakeholders, and as a democracy, the Executive Yuan is not allowed to make policies by disregarding all stakeholders, even if these policies are conceived as ideal.
In writing my previous article, my intention was to warn of an uneven road ahead in light of the recent plunge in oil prices.
Although the Republic of China (Taiwan) is not a member of the UN, we are prepared to make our intended nationally determined contribution to mitigating climate change.
Wei Kuo-yen
Environmental Protection Administration minister
Trade issue views
In response to the Taipei Prosecutors’ Office’s decision to indict members of the Sunflower movement, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) posted an image with the text: “If the pursuit of democracy is a crime, then we are all guilty” on Facebook as an expression of her strong view that the accused are not guilty.
Tsai should be praised for doing so, because this a clear sign of the breadth of mind of someone who handles matters rationally and gently. However, there is also reason for criticism: She is not as strong as student group Black Island National Youth Front member Dennis Wei (魏揚).
Wei has said that as far as the offense he is accused of is concerned, he will continue to do what he does and will not admit guilt, because he says there is nothing wrong with making civil disobedience a starting point.
He said he is proud of what he did and the reason he protested was because the state was violating democratic values; deceiving and exploiting the public to benefit a capitalist class.
Opposition to the service trade agreement is not only a matter of the lack of transparency in cooperation between the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Chinese Communist Party, there is also the risk that Taiwan will be annexed by China.
Former US secretary of state Hilary Clinton once said that if Taiwan becomes too dependent on China, it will weaken the nation. She also said that there are interest groups in Taiwan that would be happy to see the nation move closer to Beijing, because they would profit from it. The media and government must take a step back and consider whether this is in the nation’s long-term interests.
Is the service trade agreement really beneficial? This is a question that the DPP leadership and anyone who wants to make a run for the presidency must consider and express clear views over.
Chang Hui-sheng
Chiayi
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