If Taiwan fails to curb its carbon dioxide emissions over the next 30 years, rising sea levels and storm surges would pose a threat to millions of residents in the six special municipalities, Greenpeace Taiwan said yesterday as it urged the central and local governments to take action.
The call came as the environmental group released a report on its analysis of the problems that Taiwan could face as the global sea level rises, warning that the seas around Taiwan are rising at twice the global average due to the nation’s location and influence from ocean currents.
Greenpeace climate and energy campaign director Lena Chang (張皪心) told a news conference in Taipei that the analysis showed that global warming has the potential to severely affect Taiwan, but it is not just the central government that needs to take action, but also the mayors of the six cities.
Photo courtesy of Greenpeace Taiwan
The special municipalities account for more than 70 percent of Taiwan’s population, “so their mayors have a responsibility to protect their residents’ lives and property from threats,” she said.
Typhoons and tropical storms would cause sea levels to rise further, and strong winds brought by such systems can cause storm surges, in which seawater flows inland, the report said.
Taiwan suffered storm surge damage during Typhoon Dujuan in 2015 and Typhoon Megi in 2016, which led to flooding in multiple locations across the nation, it added.
Citing sea-level research conducted by the US-based non-profit organization Climate Central, the report said 1,398km2 of Taiwan’s land mass would be inundated by seawater if no aggressive action is taken to curb carbon emissions before 2050.
This could affect 1.2 million people, while storm surges could expand the risk to more than 2.9 million residents in the special municipalities and swamp 2,120km2 of land, it said.
The affected building areas would be about the size of 500 Taipei Arenas, it added.
Simulations showed that the Presidential Office Building, Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport), Taipei Railway Station and the Taipei Children’s Amusement Park would be flooded, while Taichung’s Gaomei Wetlands and Mitsui Outlet in the Port of Taichung would bear the brunt of the flooding damage, the report said.
Tainan would see the worst damage, with floodwater submerging historic sites such as Fort Zealandia and the Sicao Fortress, it said.
Tourist attractions in Kaohsiung such as the Pier-2 Art Center, 85 Sky Tower and Kaohsiung Formosa Boulevard MRT Station would also be flooded, it said.
Mayors of the six municipalities should conduct comprehensive assessments on the climate risks that their cities could face, “such as identifying transportation hubs, historic sites and infrastructure that are most susceptible to climate change and planning city development accordingly,” the report said.
They should set carbon-cutting goals and ways to achieve them, including medium and long-term goals to develop renewable energy and a timeline to retire gasoline-powered motor vehicles, it added.
Additional reporting by staff writer
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique