Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers yesterday asked government officials to better explain the administration’s air pollution control and energy policies to the public, after a referendum requiring the government to reduce thermal power generation was passed by voters last month.
Referendum #7, which was held alongside the Nov. 24 nine-in-one elections, asked voters: “Do you agree that the share of thermal power in the annual energy structure should be reduced by at least 1 percent per year on average?”
The referendum result was discussed at a meeting of the legislature’s Social Welfare and Environmental Hygiene Committee, where Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers asked government officials to explain how they planned to achieve the goal.
Photo: Huang Yao-cheng, Taipei Times
The Ministry of Economic Affairs needs to consult relevant agencies and would next month present draft guidelines on how to achieve the goal, Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs Tseng Wen-sheng (曾文生) said.
The ministry is evaluating to what degree such a reduction would improve the nation’s air quality, given that PM2.5 — fine particulate matter measuring 2.5 micrometers or smaller — emitted by thermal power plants account for only 4.5 to 9.9 percent of domestically produced PM2.5 pollution, Tseng said, citing Environmental Protection Agency data released at the end of last year.
DPP Legislator Chung Chia-pin (鍾佳濱) said the referendum question was misleading, because what people really want is to cut the amount of air pollutants emitted by power plants.
The EPA should explain to the public the difference between the three, he said, adding that the referendum results have helped the DPP understand the importance of properly explaining its policies.
The ministry should also better explain its renewable power policy, as some people are questioning whether the nation’s renewable power prices are more expensive than other countries, DPP Legislator Lin Ching-yi (林靜儀) said.
People are exploiting public concerns over the government’s alleged waste of funds to spread misinformation, so officials must explain their policies more clearly to make sure that everyone can easily understand them, Lin added.
The nation’s air quality has been improving, EPA Acting Minister Tsai Hung-teh (蔡鴻德) said, adding that the annual average PM2.5 concentration has fallen from 18.3 micrograms per cubic meter last year to 17.4 micrograms per cubic meter as of last month.
Asked by lawmakers if the agency might collect a carbon tax, Tsai said it is one of the options to curb carbon emissions, but added that government agencies have yet to reach a consensus on the matter.
STATS: Taiwan’s average life expectancy of 80.77 years was lower than that of Japan, Singapore and South Korea, but higher than in China, Malaysia and Indonesia Taiwan’s average life expectancy last year increased to 80.77 years, but was still not back to its pre-COVID-19 pandemic peak of 81.32 years in 2020, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. The average life expectancy last year increased the 0.54 years from 2023, the ministry said in a statement. For men and women, the average life expectancy last year was 77.42 years and 84.30 years respectively, up 0.48 years and 0.56 years from the previous year. Taiwan’s average life expectancy peaked at 81.32 years in 2020, as the nation was relatively unaffected by the pandemic that year. The metric
TAKING STOCK: The USMC is rebuilding a once-abandoned airfield in Palau to support large-scale ground operations as China’s missile range grows, Naval News reported The US Marine Corps (USMC) is considering new sites for stockpiling equipment in the West Pacific to harden military supply chains and enhance mobility across the Indo-Pacific region, US-based Naval News reported on Saturday. The proposed sites in Palau — one of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies — and Australia would enable a “rapid standup of stored equipment within a year” of the program’s approval, the report said, citing documents published by the USMC last month. In Palau, the service is rebuilding a formerly abandoned World War II-era airfield and establishing ancillary structures to support large-scale ground operations “as China’s missile range and magazine
Passengers on Taiwan High Speed Rail (THSR) will be required to use headphones and make phone calls in gangways under new “quiet travel” rules starting Sept. 22. THSR Chairman Shih Che (史哲) told media that THSR will run a three-month promotional campaign to ensure widespread adoption of the new rules. Those repeatedly ignoring the guidance face the potential termination of their transport contract, which can result in them getting escorted off the train, according to THSR. Shih shared his hope to cultivate an environment conducive to rest and reading for the train’s passengers, stating that these changes aim to “promote self-discipline” among passengers
A magnitude 5.4 earthquake struck Tainan in southern Taiwan at 2:06pm today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 42km east-northeast of Tainan City Hall at a depth of 15.1km, CWA data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Tainan City, Kaohsiung City and Chiayi, Yunlin and Changhua counties on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City, Taichung City and Pingtung, Taitung, Nantou and Hualien counties, while it was measured