Minister of Environment Peng Chi-ming (彭啟明) on Thursday compared the government’s stated goal to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 to a “moon landing,” suggesting that Taiwan should “rethink” its strategy.
“I must say that [the bid to achieve] net zero emissions by 2050 is like the moon landing” in the 1960s, Peng said of the blueprint put forward by the government in 2022 at a news conference shortly after the National Climate Change Response Committee convened for the first time earlier in the day.
Describing such efforts as “extremely challenging,” Peng suggested that the nation should “rethink” its strategy about reducing carbon emissions.
Photo: Lin Cheng-kun, Taipei Times
Meanwhile, Presidential Office spokesman Xavier Chang (張惇涵) said that members of the committee had “constructive and comprehensive” discussions during the four-hour meeting.
The committee members agreed that Taiwan should develop renewable energy and that the government should establish a platform to disclose information on different energy sources, he said.
On nuclear policy, Chang cited President William Lai (賴清德) as saying in the discussions that to the government, “societal consensus” on how to ensure safety and deal with nuclear waste remains crucial.
Lai said that under that premise, the government was open to nuclear energy options.
In his opening remarks, Lai also said that the energy issue has never been simple and binary, and it requires society to “confront problems with honesty” and “come up with practical solutions.”
A “nuclear-free homeland” is not an ideological issue unique to the Democratic Progressive Party, Lai said before the committee convened.
He added that phasing out nuclear power was already codified in the Basic Environment Act (環境基本法) adopted by the legislature in 2002, at a time when the DPP was a minority.
The National Climate Change Response Committee is one of the three committees that Lai established under the Presidential Office in June.
Lai presides over the ad hoc group with Vice Premier Cheng Li-chiun (鄭麗君), Academia Sinica President James Liao (廖俊智) and Pegatron Corp chairman Tung Tzu-hsien (童子賢) also on the committee as deputy conveners.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
Myanmar has turned down an offer of assistance from Taiwanese search-and-rescue teams after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the nation on Friday last week, saying other international aid is sufficient, the National Fire Agency said yesterday. More than 1,700 have been killed and 3,400 injured in the quake that struck near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay early on Friday afternoon, followed minutes later by a magnitude 6.7 aftershock. Worldwide, 13 international search-and-rescue teams have been deployed, with another 13 teams mobilizing, the agency said. Taiwan’s search-and-rescue teams were on standby, but have since been told to stand down, as