Minister of Environment Shieu Fuh-sheng (薛富盛) has arrived in Dubai for the 28th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP28), the Ministry of Environment announced on Wednesday.
The minister and other government officials arrived in Dubai for the two-week COP28 meeting that began last week, the ministry said in a news release, adding that although Taiwan is not a UN member, it has participated in meetings through non-governmental organizations and research institutions.
On Saturday last week, the Industrial Technology Research Institute cohosted a side event titled, “Enhancing Ambitions with international cooperation towards a successful 2050 net zero transformation” with the Marshall Islands; on Monday, the Taiwan Research Institute (TRI) co-organized another side event, “Cross-level governance and solutions for global net zero transition,” with Belize; and “Building climate-resilient agri-food systems in vulnerable countries with indigenous knowledge” was held on Wednesday by Palau and Taiwan’s Mom Loves Taiwan Association.
Photo: CNA
Taiwan would show to international partners “our promise to reach climate goals with meaningful contributions and showcase our resolution to pursue efforts to limit the average global temperature rise [from pre-industrial levels] to 1.5°C,” the ministry cited the minister as saying.
Shieu told reporters in Dubai that Taiwan has recently made several achievements to meet climate change challenges, including the nation’s net zero emissions goal in the Climate Change Response Act (氣候變遷因應法) passed earlier this year, which shows “Taiwan’s determination to reach net zero.”
Asked whether Taiwan should set more ambitious targets after this year’s COP began with calls for accelerated action to combat the escalating climate crisis, Shieu said considering that nearly 120 countries had announced a commitment to work together to triple the world’s installed renewable energy generation capacity at COP28, “Taiwan’s roadmap for 2050 net zero goal is on track.”
“Taiwan’s renewable energy capacity has hit 10 percent of its total this year, and the goal for 2050 is 30 percent,” which aligns with COP28 targets, Shieu said.
In March last year, the administration published “Taiwan’s pathway to net zero emissions in 2050,” providing the action pathway to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 by promoting technology R&D and innovation to help industry undergo a green transition, the National Development Council said.
Regarding Taiwan’s decarbonization effort, the minister said he is optimistic because “technologies will continue advancing,” and because the government’s plan employs a wide range of renewable energy, such as geothermal energy, biomass, marine energy and hydrogen.
Academia Sinica and Taiwan Power Co have also recently developed a new technological option that can remove the carbon in natural gas and only burn the hydrogen to create zero-carbon electricity, he added.
The minister also brought up a declaration made by more than 20 countries to triple nuclear energy capacity by 2050.
Taiwan would have to overcome three challenges before it continues developing nuclear energy, which are safety issues, the handling of the nuclear waste and how to reach a consensus on where to store it, Shieu said.
“When you can’t solve the problem [of where to place the waste], nuclear power is a pseudo-issue,” he added.
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