President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday reaffirmed Taiwan’s commitment to net-zero emissions by 2050 at a “Taiwan Day” event held on the sidelines of the UN’s COP26 climate summit to highlight the nation’s resolve to join the climate fight as a global partner.
COP26 is being held in Glasgow, Scotland, until Friday without Taiwan’s formal participation.
Instead, a delegation of more than 30 Taiwanese officials arrived on Friday to stage activities and attend events on the sidelines of the summit as a “non-governmental organization.”
Photo courtesy of Greenpeace East Asia
Its plans culminated yesterday in “Taiwan Day,” an event held to communicate the nation’s resolve to participate in global climate response, as well as to echo Tsai’s call for net-zero emissions by 2050, Representative to the UK Kelly Hsieh (謝武樵) said.
Addressing the event via a video message, Tsai spoke of Taiwan’s willingness to work with its global partners, saying no country can solve the climate crisis alone.
“Since 2016, our government has been actively pursuing energy transition and developing a more aggressive plan to accelerate toward net neutrality,” she said.
To demonstrate this commitment, net-zero emissions by 2050 would be written into law, Tsai said, referring to Premier Su Tseng-chang’s (蘇貞昌) instruction to the Environmental Protection Administration on Aug. 30 to include the goal in its draft climate change response act.
She highlighted Taiwan’s achievements, including its 450 percent increase in solar power capacity over the past five years and the creation in 2019 of the nation’s first offshore wind farm.
“Our efforts do not end here,” she added.
Taiwan also plans to become a center of green energy in Asia “with the hopes of sharing our experiences and working together with our neighbors for the sustainable development of the region,” Tsai said.
“I would like to take this opportunity to reiterate Taiwan’s willingness and ability to work side-by-side with global partners to achieve our shared goal of net-zero emissions by 2050,” she added.
In Taiwan last night, climate advocacy groups celebrated by illuminating the sides of Taipei 101, the Presidential Office Building and Kaohsiung’s 85 Sky Tower with climate-forward messages.
Plan B, 350 Taiwan, the Taiwan Youth Climate Coalition and Greenpeace in a news release expressed their hope that the messages reading “TW,” “net 0” and “2050” would spark public discussion of climate issues.
Taiwan is projected to lose a working-age population of about 6.67 million people in two waves of retirement in the coming years, as the nation confronts accelerating demographic decline and a shortage of younger workers to take their place, the Ministry of the Interior said. Taiwan experienced its largest baby boom between 1958 and 1966, when the population grew by 3.78 million, followed by a second surge of 2.89 million between 1976 and 1982, ministry data showed. In 2023, the first of those baby boom generations — those born in the late 1950s and early 1960s — began to enter retirement, triggering
ECONOMIC BOOST: Should the more than 23 million people eligible for the NT$10,000 handouts spend them the same way as in 2023, GDP could rise 0.5 percent, an official said Universal cash handouts of NT$10,000 (US$330) are to be disbursed late next month at the earliest — including to permanent residents and foreign residents married to Taiwanese — pending legislative approval, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. The Executive Yuan yesterday approved the Special Act for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience in Response to International Circumstances (因應國際情勢強化經濟社會及民生國安韌性特別條例). The NT$550 billion special budget includes NT$236 billion for the cash handouts, plus an additional NT$20 billion set aside as reserve funds, expected to be used to support industries. Handouts might begin one month after the bill is promulgated and would be completed within
The National Development Council (NDC) yesterday unveiled details of new regulations that ease restrictions on foreigners working or living in Taiwan, as part of a bid to attract skilled workers from abroad. The regulations, which could go into effect in the first quarter of next year, stem from amendments to the Act for the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals (外國專業人才延攬及僱用法) passed by lawmakers on Aug. 29. Students categorized as “overseas compatriots” would be allowed to stay and work in Taiwan in the two years after their graduation without obtaining additional permits, doing away with the evaluation process that is currently required,
IMPORTANT BACKER: China seeks to expel US influence from the Indo-Pacific region and supplant Washington as the global leader, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng said China is preparing for war to seize Taiwan, Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said in Washington on Friday, warning that Taiwan’s fall would trigger a regional “domino effect” endangering US security. In a speech titled “Maintaining the Peaceful and Stable Status Quo Across the Taiwan Strait is in Line with the Shared Interests of Taiwan and the United States,” Chiu said Taiwan’s strategic importance is “closely tied” to US interests. Geopolitically, Taiwan sits in a “core position” in the first island chain — an arc stretching from Japan, through Taiwan and the Philippines, to Borneo, which is shared by
RSS