Taiwan ranked No. 40 internationally on environmental performance, according to this year's edition of the Environmental Performance Index (EPI), released by environmental specialists at Yale University and Columbia University on Wednesday.
In response, the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) yesterday said that greenhouse gas emission reduction would be key to improving the ranking.
With a score of 80.8, Taiwan was only 0.2 shy of No. 39, the US, in the study of 149 countries.
The EPI ranked countries on 25 indicators spanning six policy categories: environmental health; air pollution; water resources; biodiversity and habitat; productive natural resources; and climate change.
"As a quantitative gauge of pollution control and natural resource management results, the index provides a powerful tool for improving policymaking and shifting environmental decision-making onto firmer analytic foundations," the study said.
Topping the list were mostly European countries, with Switzerland, Sweden and Norway found to have implemented the most rigorous policies and obtained the best results.
At the other end of the spectrum, African countries Mali, Mauritania, Sierra Leone, Angola and Niger occupied the bottom five positions.
"Analysis of the drivers underlying the 2008 rankings suggests that wealth is a major determinant of environmental success," the study said, adding that "[t]op-ranked countries have all invested in water and air pollution control and other elements of environmental infrastructure and have adopted policy measures to mitigate the pollution harms caused by economic activities."
Money, however, may not be the sole factor in the success of environmental policy.
Giving Costa Rica, whose GDP is US$9,647 -- a quarter of that in the US -- as an example, the study lauded the country's No. 5 rank, which it attributed to the country's substantial environmental efforts, leading it to significantly outperform its neighbor, Nicaragua, at No. 77.
"Every country has something to learn from the EPI 2008," Daniel Esty, lead author of this year's index and director of the Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy, said in a press release.
Because of changes in methodology, the ranking this year was not directly comparable to the last one.
"More weight was placed on climate change," Esty was quoted as saying in the study.
Taiwan's drop from No. 24 last year to No. 40 this year should nevertheless be cause for alarm.
"The fact that the EPI 2008 included 25 indicators -- from 16 the previous year -- suggests that most of the new items added were on Taiwan's weaker segments in environmental protection," Green Party Taiwan Secretary-General Pan Han-shen (
"With climate change now a major EPI indicator, it will be difficult for Taiwan to improve its ranking if the number of development projects continues to increase."
Administration director of the international affairs office, Liang Yung-fang (
"It is also an inescapable fact that Taiwan has high greenhouse gas emissions," he said.
Although the EPI 2008 did not reflect well on Taiwan's environmental efforts, Liang said the data provided a good reference.
"It will be the EPA's priority in the coming years to reduce greenhouse gas emissions," he said, citing the opening of the greenhouse gas reduction management office as one of the administration's efforts. "With these measures, Taiwan's performance on environmental protection may improve."
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
A magnitude 4.1 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 2:23pm today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was 5.4 kilometers northeast of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 34.9 km, according to the CWA. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was the highest in Hualien County, where it measured 2 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 1 in Yilan county, Taichung, Nantou County, Changhua County and Yunlin County, the CWA said. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
President William Lai (賴清德) has appointed former vice president Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) to attend the late Pope Francis’ funeral at the Vatican City on Saturday on his behalf, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today. The Holy See announced Francis’ funeral would take place on Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square. The ministry expressed condolences over Francis’ passing and said that Chen would represent Taiwan at the funeral and offer condolences in person. Taiwan and the Vatican have a long-standing and close diplomatic relationship, the ministry said. Both sides agreed to have Chen represent Taiwan at the funeral, given his Catholic identity and