The organizers of the Taipei Marathon are to conduct carbon footprint verification for the first time in the event’s history this year, as the Taipei City Government is seeking to reduce carbon emissions with the goal to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, Taipei Deputy Mayor Tsai Ping-kun (蔡炳坤) said yesterday.
The organizers have tasked the British Standards Institute with measuring carbon emissions, Tsai told a news conference ahead of tomorrow’s event.
The data would be used as a reference in the event’s efforts to reduce emissions by 3 percent every year until it meets the city’s requirements in 2050, he said.
Taiwan’s net-zero deadline corresponds with goals set by international organizations and major economies.
“The 2050 net-zero carbon emission goal should not be all talk, but no action,” Tsai said. “Such a big sporting event should consider how carbon emissions can be reduced every year. I think this is an important issue that connects us all in a global society.”
Taipei Department of Sports Commissioner Li Tsai-li (李再立) said net-zero emissions by 2050 is not just the marathon’s target, but that of the city as a whole.
“We hope that whenever sports events are held, people can also take time to understand the importance of conservationism and environmental protection,” Li said.
The marathon would reduce single-use plastic and other materials linked to carbon emissions by using recyclable and naturally decomposable materials, including for cups at water stations, the organizers said in a statement.
Recycling materials would also be used for trophies and finisher certificates, the marathon said, adding that it had replaced its fleet of gasoline-powered scooters with electric ones.
Fubon Financial Holdings, a major sponsor of the event, has pledged to plant 100,000 trees across Taiwan within the next five years, the organizers said.
The race is to feature 12 elite international athletes, Tsai said, adding that they have all finished 14 days of quarantine and seven days of self-health management.
The 12 would join a field of about 26,000 competitors, of which 8,000 had signed up for the marathon and 18,000 for the half marathon, he said.
Tsai said that 934 foreigners from 59 countries living in Taiwan had also signed up.
The Taipei Marathon has been held annually since 2001, with runners from east Africa typically dominating the race.
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday said it had deployed patrol vessels to expel a China Coast Guard ship and a Chinese fishing boat near Pratas Island (Dongsha Island, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. The China Coast Guard vessel was 28 nautical miles (52km) northeast of Pratas at 6:15am on Thursday, approaching the island’s restricted waters, which extend 24 nautical miles from its shoreline, the CGA’s Dongsha-Nansha Branch said in a statement. The Tainan, a 2,000-tonne cutter, was deployed by the CGA to shadow the Chinese ship, which left the area at 2:39pm on Friday, the statement said. At 6:31pm on Friday,
PEAK MONTHS: Data showed that on average 25 to 27 typhoons formed in the Pacific and South China seas annually, with about four forming per month in July and October One of three tropical depressions in the Pacific strengthened into a typhoon yesterday afternoon, while two others are expected to become typhoons by today, Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecaster Lee Ming-hsiang (李名翔) said yesterday. The outer circulation of Tropical Depression No. 20, now Typhoon Mitag, has brought light rain to Hualien, Taitung and areas in the south, Lee said, adding that as of 2pm yesterday, Mitag was moving west-northwest at 16kph, but is not expected to directly affect Taiwan. It was possible that Tropical Depression No. 21 would become a typhoon as soon as last night, he said. It was moving in a
The American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) put Taiwan in danger, Ma Ying-jeou Foundation director Hsiao Hsu-tsen (蕭旭岑) said yesterday, hours after the de facto US embassy said that Beijing had misinterpreted World War II-era documents to isolate Taiwan. The AIT’s comments harmed the Republic of China’s (ROC) national interests and contradicted a part of the “six assurances” stipulating that the US would not change its official position on Taiwan’s sovereignty, Hsiao said. The “six assurances,” which were given by then-US president Ronald Reagan to Taiwan in 1982, say that Washington would not set a date for ending arm sales to Taiwan, consult
A Taiwanese academic yesterday said that Chinese Ambassador to Denmark Wang Xuefeng (王雪峰) disrespected Denmark and Japan when he earlier this year allegedly asked Japan’s embassy to make Taiwan’s representatives leave an event in Copenhagen. The Danish-language Berlingske on Sunday reported the incident in an article with the headline “The emperor’s birthday ended in drama in Copenhagen: More conflict may be on the way between Denmark and China.” It said that on Feb. 26, the Japanese embassy in Denmark held an event for Japanese Emperor Naruhito’s birthday, with about 200 guests in attendance, including representatives from Taiwan. After addressing the Japanese hosts, Wang
RSS