A greater number of international companies are to be invited to participate in the Asia Pacific Forum and Exposition for Sustainability (APFES) next year, Taiwan Institute for Sustainable Energy chairman Eugene Chien (簡又新) said in a ceremony in Taipei yesterday held to thank the participating schools, companies, city governments and nongovernmental organizations that took part in this year’s event.
“Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, we could not invite many international firms to come to the exposition this year… We hope it can become a bridge to connect domestic firms with other international companies and facilitate exchanges on sustainability issues,” he said.
The exposition provides the public with an opportunity to interact directly with firms, universities and non-governmental groups to learn about the efforts they are making to achieve sustainability, Chien said.
Photo: Fang Bin-chao, Taipei Times
A sustainable operation is defined as one that ensures social justice and environmental protection in the process of developing the economy, he said.
Environment, social and governance (ESG) criteria — which measure the positive and negative effects of business practices on society — have since 2020 been more warmly embraced by corporations, he said, adding that the EU and the US are regulating businesses that claim to follow ESG practices.
Taiwan Integrated Disaster Prevention of Technology Engineering Consulting director Chia Hsin-hsing (賈新興) spoke at a forum at the exposition about the effects of climate change.
Photo: Fang Bin-chao, Taipei Times
“In the US, there has been flooding, drought and wildfires occurring simultaneously. Meanwhile, Europeans were overwhelmed by heat waves this summer,” he said.
In Taipei on Aug. 8, 2013, the Central Weather Bureau recorded a record temperature of 39.3°C. On July 24, 2020, a record high of 39.7°C was reached, Chia said.
In 2020, Taipei had nearly 60 days where temperatures reached 35°C or higher, he said, adding that the city now has a warmer winter and longer summer, and the change of seasons has become less obvious.
Between 1897 and last year, the rise in annual rainfall in Taipei was not as great as the temperature. However, rainfall appeared to increase after 1985, Chia said, adding that Taipei has recorded more than 200mm of rain in one day multiple times since 2000.
In every Taipei district, the highest hourly rainfall exceeded 90mm, he said.
While climate change has slowed the movement of typhoons and tropical storms formed in the northwest Pacific Ocean by about 20 percent, Chia said that a typhoon’s strength could increase more quickly.
“In two days, a typhoon’s speed could turn from a car driving in the city to that of the high-speed rail,” he said.
The first two F-16V Bock 70 jets purchased from the US are expected to arrive in Taiwan around Double Ten National Day, which is on Oct. 10, a military source said yesterday. Of the 66 F-16V Block 70 jets purchased from the US, the first completed production in March, the source said, adding that since then three jets have been produced per month. Although there were reports of engine defects, the issue has been resolved, they said. After the jets arrive in Taiwan, they must first pass testing by the air force before they would officially become Taiwan’s property, they said. The air force
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,
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, would pose a steep challenge to Taiwan’s ability to defend itself against a full-scale invasion, a defense expert said yesterday. Institute of National Defense and Security Research analyst Chieh Chung (揭仲) made the comment hours after the PLAN confirmed the carrier recently passed through the Taiwan Strait to conduct “scientific research tests and training missions” in the South China Sea. China has two carriers in operation — the Liaoning and the Shandong — with the Fujian undergoing sea trials. Although the PLAN needs time to train the Fujian’s air wing and
STRIKE: Some travel agencies in Taiwan said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group tours to the country were proceeding as planned A planned strike by airport personnel in South Korea has not affected group tours to the country from Taiwan, travel agencies said yesterday. They added that they were closely monitoring the situation. Personnel at 15 airports, including Seoul’s Incheon and Gimpo airports, are to go on strike. They announced at a news conference on Tuesday that the strike would begin on Friday next week and continue until the Mid-Autumn Festival next month. Some travel agencies in Taiwan, including Cola Tour, Lion Travel, SET Tour and ezTravel, said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group
RSS