Government agencies last year successfully hit Cabinet-set standards on the purchase of environmentally-friendly products, according to the Environmental Protection Administration yesterday.
The Cabinet marked out 27 products commonly used in government offices, including computers, stationary and air-conditioners, and set agencies the goal of spending at least 50 percent of the budgets allocated for these resources on environmentally-friendly goods.
According to EPA statistics released yesterday, the government last year spent NT$2.65 billion on environmentally-friendly products listed by the Cabinet, accounting for 65.6 percent of the total.
The statistics also showed that 29 out of 36 Cabinet-subordinate agencies and 23 out of 25 counties and cities reached the 50-percent goal.
"The government's attempts to promote green consumption will further broaden the market for green purchasers," Ke Chih-hung (
The Atomic Energy Council, the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics and the National Science Council were the worst performers in the Cabinet initiative with 12.93, 29.07 and 30.36 percent of their allocated budgets spent on environmentally-friendly products respectively.
Ke said that eight more products will be added to the Cabinet's list next year in order to boost payments for environmental-friendly products up to NT$5 billion.
The eight items will include office photo copiers and notebook computers.
Ke said that green purchasing was heavily promoted by the UN World Summit on Sustainable Development -- held last year in Johannesburg, South Africa -- by encouraging governments to develop public-purchasing policies that promote environmental-friendly products and services in action plans.
According to Yu Ning (于寧), president of the Environmental and Development Foundation the establishment of a green-purchasing alliance composed of governmental officials and representatives of private companies would be the next step in promoting the adoption of green products.
"Through joining the alliance, the concept of green consumption will be transferred from the government to the private sector," Yu said.
Yu said, however, that the recent recession made it more difficult to promote environmental-friendly products, the prices of which are higher than non-green products.
Taiwan was listed in 14th place among the world's wealthiest country in terms of GDP per capita, in the latest rankings released on Monday by Forbes magazine. Taiwan's GDP per capita was US$76,860, which put it at No. 14 on the list of the World's 100 Richest Countries this year, one spot above Hong Kong with US$75,130. The magazine's list of the richest countries in the world is compiled based on GDP per capita data, as estimated by the IMF. However, for a more precise measure of a nation's wealth, the magazine also considers purchasing power parity, which is a metric used to
Taipei’s Ximending (西門町) shopping area welcomed the most international visitors, followed by Taipei 101, Songshan Cultural and Creative Park and Yangmingshan National Park (陽明山國家公園), a list of the city’s most popular tourist attractions published by the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism showed. As of August, 69.22 million people had visited Taipei’s main tourism spots, a 76 percent increase from 39.33 million in the same period last year, department data showed. Ximending had 20.21 million visitors, followed by Taipei 101 at 8.09 million, Songshan Cultural and Creative Park at 6.28 million, Yangmingshan at 4.51 million and the Red House Theater (西門紅樓) in
NINTH MONTH: There were 11,792 births in Taiwan last month and 15,563 deaths, or a mortality rate of 8.11 per 1,000 people, household registration data showed Taiwan’s population was 23,404,138 as of last month, down 2,470 from August, the ninth consecutive month this year that the nation has reported a drop, the Ministry of the Interior said on Wednesday. The population last month was 162 fewer than the same month last year, a decline of 0.44 per day, the ministry said, citing household registration data. Taiwan reported 11,792 births last month, or 3.7 births per day, up 149 from August, it said, adding that the monthly birthrate was 6.15 per 1,000 people. The jurisdictions with the highest birthrates were Yunlin County at 14.62 per 1,000 people, Penghu County (8.61
WARNING: Domestic coffee producers mainly grow arabica beans, as they self-pollinate, but they are more likely to have consistency issues, an expert said Taiwan ranks third in coffee consumption per capita in Asia, the latest Ministry of Agriculture data showed. Taiwanese consume 1.77kg, or 177 cups of coffee, per person each year, less only than Japan and South Korea, at 600 cups and 400 cups respectively, the ministry’s Tea and Beverage Research Station said. Although the nation mainly relies on imported coffee, there has been an increase in home-grown coffee bean production, the ministry said. Cuttings and other techniques are commonly used to ensure domestic beans have stronger floral and fruity flavors, it said. It is a fast-expanding market with Taiwan’s coffee consumption
RSS