As the globe is trending toward reducing carbon dioxide emissions and converting to new sources of energy, developing “green” energy alternatives has already become a mainstream policy in many nations.
Fast economic growth coupled with a huge expansion of consumerism and the need to deal with the resulting waste have become the impetus for many nations’ work to create circular economies.
Urbanization has resulted in highly concentrated populations and waste emissions from vehicles has become a serious problem for public health. Electric vehicles will be at the heart of this century’s transport revolution.
Awareness of environmental protection in Southeast Asian nations is on par with Taiwan. Many nations in the region have shown an interest in green energy, technology, products and equipment. Taiwanese businesses should be on the lookout for commercial opportunities.
Following the ratification of the Paris climate accord, a succession of Southeast and South Asian nations have formulated policies to develop green energy.
For example, India’s government plans to have a total solar capacity of 100 gigawatts by 2020, while Australia, which has one of highest levels of per capita carbon emissions in the world, plans to universalize solar energy by installing systems on 70 percent of its detached residential houses.
A business opportunity exists: If solar energy batteries and photovoltaic modules are installed behind solar panels, a solar micro-inverter can be used to produce even more electricity. Since the cost of this technology is cheaper than building new power stations, supply of stored-energy systems will likely fail to keep up with demand.
In Southeast Asia, the effects of population growth, urbanization and an explosion in industrial activity have resulted in a sharp increase in the amount of waste material and wastewater.
For example, India produces 66 million tonnes of garbage per year, but only about half is cleared and processed. By 2030, it is forecast that India is to produce 165 million tonnes of refuse per annum.
The Philippines’ dominant livestock industry is pig farming and the nation has an estimated 12 million pigs. Animal waste is fast becoming an environmental disaster.
India relies heavily on recycled water, while Malaysia and Singapore have insufficient water resources.
In a nutshell, these nations’ requirements for purified water, wastewater and solid waste management are gradually increasing. Business opportunities lie in the export of technology and equipment for the environmental management of such waste.
For instance, waste material can be used to generate power, precious metals can be extracted from electronic components and wastewater can be managed using specialized equipment — pumps, septic tanks and filtration systems.
Southeast and South Asia generally rely on burning coal for electricity and air pollution is already a serious problem; population growth and urbanization have caused severe air pollution in metropolitan areas.
New Delhi’s haze is regularly pictured in international media, with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi pledging to ban the sale of fossil fuel-burning vehicles by 2030.
Commercial opportunities for Taiwanese businesses include the export of electric vehicles — including bicycles — in addition to their components, energy storage, recharging stations, batteries and battery recycling.
The human factor is always the main challenge for exporting nations. The local economies of Chinese-speaking societies in Southeast Asia need to consider Chinese wages, the environment, the market and other factors such as culture, geography, population and resources.
These nations are the most important developing markets for Taiwanese businesses after China and are therefore a key target as the nation attempts to transition its export-led economy. Taiwanese soft power, Chinese finance and Japanese technological prowess can be combined to increase the chances of success for the government’s New Southbound Policy.
As Taiwan’s economy is mostly made up of small and medium-sized enterprises, the government should prioritize product and technology standards, and provide assistance in obtaining certification.
The government should also assist in the development of supply channels and use its strategic alliances to lower sales costs, thereby increasing the competitiveness of Taiwanese exporters.
Lu Shyi-min is a retired energy policy researcher at the Industrial Technology Research Institute’s Green Energy and Environment Laboratories.
Translated by Edward Jones
They did it again. For the whole world to see: an image of a Taiwan flag crushed by an industrial press, and the horrifying warning that “it’s closer than you think.” All with the seal of authenticity that only a reputable international media outlet can give. The Economist turned what looks like a pastiche of a poster for a grim horror movie into a truth everyone can digest, accept, and use to support exactly the opinion China wants you to have: It is over and done, Taiwan is doomed. Four years after inaccurately naming Taiwan the most dangerous place on
Wherever one looks, the United States is ceding ground to China. From foreign aid to foreign trade, and from reorganizations to organizational guidance, the Trump administration has embarked on a stunning effort to hobble itself in grappling with what his own secretary of state calls “the most potent and dangerous near-peer adversary this nation has ever confronted.” The problems start at the Department of State. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has asserted that “it’s not normal for the world to simply have a unipolar power” and that the world has returned to multipolarity, with “multi-great powers in different parts of the
President William Lai (賴清德) recently attended an event in Taipei marking the end of World War II in Europe, emphasizing in his speech: “Using force to invade another country is an unjust act and will ultimately fail.” In just a few words, he captured the core values of the postwar international order and reminded us again: History is not just for reflection, but serves as a warning for the present. From a broad historical perspective, his statement carries weight. For centuries, international relations operated under the law of the jungle — where the strong dominated and the weak were constrained. That
The Executive Yuan recently revised a page of its Web site on ethnic groups in Taiwan, replacing the term “Han” (漢族) with “the rest of the population.” The page, which was updated on March 24, describes the composition of Taiwan’s registered households as indigenous (2.5 percent), foreign origin (1.2 percent) and the rest of the population (96.2 percent). The change was picked up by a social media user and amplified by local media, sparking heated discussion over the weekend. The pan-blue and pro-China camp called it a politically motivated desinicization attempt to obscure the Han Chinese ethnicity of most Taiwanese.
RSS