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
LONG FLIGHT: The jets would be flown by US pilots, with Taiwanese copilots in the two-seat F-16D variant to help familiarize them with the aircraft, the source said The US is expected to fly 10 Lockheed Martin F-16C/D Block 70/72 jets to Taiwan over the coming months to fulfill a long-awaited order of 66 aircraft, a defense official said yesterday. Word that the first batch of the jets would be delivered soon was welcome news to Taiwan, which has become concerned about delays in the delivery of US arms amid rising military tensions with China. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official said the initial tranche of the nation’s F-16s are rolling off assembly lines in the US and would be flown under their own power to Taiwan by way
OBJECTS AT SEA: Satellites with synthetic-aperture radar could aid in the detection of small Chinese boats attempting to illegally enter Taiwan, the space agency head said Taiwan aims to send the nation’s first low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite into space in 2027, while the first Formosat-8 and Formosat-9 spacecraft are to be launched in October and 2028 respectively, the National Science and Technology Council said yesterday. The council laid out its space development plan in a report reviewed by members of the legislature’s Education and Culture Committee. Six LEO satellites would be produced in the initial phase, with the first one, the B5G-1A, scheduled to be launched in 2027, the council said in the report. Regarding the second satellite, the B5G-1B, the government plans to work with private contractors
‘OF COURSE A COUNTRY’: The president outlined that Taiwan has all the necessary features of a nation, including citizens, land, government and sovereignty President William Lai (賴清德) discussed the meaning of “nation” during a speech in New Taipei City last night, emphasizing that Taiwan is a country as he condemned China’s misinterpretation of UN Resolution 2758. The speech was the first in a series of 10 that Lai is scheduled to give across Taiwan. It is the responsibility of Taiwanese citizens to stand united to defend their national sovereignty, democracy, liberty, way of life and the future of the next generation, Lai said. This is the most important legacy the people of this era could pass on to future generations, he said. Lai went on to discuss
MISSION: The Indo-Pacific region is ‘the priority theater,’ where the task of deterrence extends across the entire region, including Taiwan, the US Pacific Fleet commander said The US Navy’s “mission of deterrence” in the Indo-Pacific theater applies to Taiwan, Pacific Fleet Commander Admiral Stephen Koehler told the South China Sea Conference on Tuesday. The conference, organized by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), is an international platform for senior officials and experts from countries with security interests in the region. “The Pacific Fleet’s mission is to deter aggression across the Western Pacific, together with our allies and partners, and to prevail in combat if necessary, Koehler said in the event’s keynote speech. “That mission of deterrence applies regionwide — including the South China Sea and Taiwan,” he
RSS