The Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) has not penalized any factories for high carbon emissions despite listing carbon dioxide as an air pollutant in May 2012, Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Tien Chiu-chin (田秋堇) said at a question-and-answer session in the legislature yesterday.
Citing an EPA announcement in which the agency determined that carbon dioxide was an air pollutant following studies showing its detrimental effect on the human body, Tien asked EPA Minister Wei Kuo-yen (魏國彥) why regulations governing carbon emissions had not been formulated.
Of all the air pollutants listed under the EPA’s control, only carbon emissions have not been regulated, she said, adding that the agency’s inaction has led some to view it as a “deity” protecting polluters.
Tien said several Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators have been blocking a review of a draft greenhouse gas reduction bill, even though President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) campaigned for re-election on a pledge to cut carbon emissions.
Some environmental protection groups have asked her to not table a review of the bill before the draft energy tax act is passed, another proposal that is being blocked by the KMT, said Tien, one of the two conveners of the Social Welfare and Environmental Hygiene Committee, the other being KMT Legislator Alicia Wang (王育敏).
Hence, the responsibility for tabling a review of the proposed greenhouse gas reduction bill falls on the “KMT committee convener,” Tien added.
In response, Wei said he would talk to KMT legislators to lobby for the review of the greenhouse gas emission bill, which would serve as the legal standard for greenhouse gas regulation after it is passed.
However, Tien expressed concern over the protracted legislative procedure and said that the EPA could set up regulations on penalties based on the Air Pollution Control Act (空氣汙染防制法) and start fining polluting factories.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
The age requirement for commercial pilots and airline transport pilots is to be lowered by two years, to 18 and 21 years respectively, to expand the pool of pilots in accordance with international standards, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications announced today. The changes are part of amendments to articles 93, 119 and 121 of the Regulations Governing Licenses and Ratings for Airmen (航空人員檢定給證管理規則). The amendments take into account age requirements for aviation personnel certification in the Convention on International Civil Aviation and EU’s aviation safety regulations, as well as the practical needs of managing aviation personnel licensing, the ministry said. The ministry
RSS