Taiwan’s goal of reducing carbon emissions by 23 to 25 percent by 2030 needs to be “raised and be more ambitious,” Minister of Environment Peng Chi-ming (彭啟明) said yesterday, but added that he acknowledges the challenge of achieving the goal as it stands.
The government is drafting a “clearer, more pragmatic, achievable pathway” to reach the net zero goal and aiming for a more ambitious emissions reduction target, Peng said in a radio interview.
He did not elaborate on the details, but said that the government must take the lead and enterprises, many of which would soon be charged for their emissions, need to implement “new ways of thinking.”
Photo: Chu Pei-hsiung,Taipei Times
The government in 2022 announced a 2050 net zero pathway. The mid-term 2030 goal was to cut carbon emissions by 23 to 25 percent compared with the 2005 baseline year.
However, Peng said the 2005 level had only been reduced by 1.8 percent in 2022 and reaching the 2030 goal would “in reality be hard.”
The reality needs to be challenged, “because only when the pressure and the drive to change comes from the top are people motivated to do the work,” Peng said.
Asked why the government had turned away from nuclear power, which does not produce carbon emissions, the minister said: “Energy is never a true-or-false question, but a multiple-choice one,” citing President William Lai’s (賴清德) response.
The president said he is open to new types of energy that are free of nuclear waste and safety concerns, Peng said, adding that “these new technologies, however, take years.”
Furthermore, nuclear plants have to stop operating, per the law. Restarting them would require complicated measures and would take many years, he said.
The best way to reach the target is to follow the UN’s COP28 resolution. That means increasing the generation capacity of renewable energy and boosting energy efficiency, the minister said.
COP28 made a joint commitment last year to “triple the world’s installed renewable energy generation capacity to at least 11,000 GW by 2030” and “to collectively double the global average annual rate of energy efficiency improvements from about 2 percent to more than 4 percent every year until 2030.”
Other than net zero, Peng added that climate adjustment is also important.
“Decarbonization is to save the earth, but adjustment is to save ourselves,” he said.
“The global temperature would increase [at least] 1°C by 2050 despite decarbonization efforts,” the minister said. “So, adjustment or long-term preparation for climate change needs to be done.”
People can no longer expect no floods at all, “rather we should boost our resilience, and be prepared to the extent that we’re not afraid of floods,” Peng said. “Or work on how to cool our cities, for example by providing outdoor shade.”
“The president has said that decarbonization and adjustment to climate change will have to comprise a certain percentage, perhaps a quarter, of the government budget,” Peng added.
A tropical depression in waters east of the Philippines could develop into a tropical storm as soon as today and bring rainfall as it approaches, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, while issuing heat warnings for 14 cities and counties. Weather model simulations show that there are still considerable differences in the path that the tropical depression is projected to take. It might pass through the Bashi Channel to the South China Sea or turn northeast and move toward the sea south of Japan, CWA forecaster Yeh Chih-chun (葉致均) said, adding that the uncertainty of its movement is still high,
TAIWANESE INNOVATION: The ‘Seawool’ fabric generates about NT$200m a year, with the bulk of it sourced by clothing brands operating in Europe and the US Growing up on Taiwan’s west coast where mollusk farming is popular, Eddie Wang saw discarded oyster shells transformed from waste to function — a memory that inspired him to create a unique and environmentally friendly fabric called “Seawool.” Wang remembered that residents of his seaside hometown of Yunlin County used discarded oyster shells that littered the streets during the harvest as insulation for their homes. “They burned the shells and painted the residue on the walls. The houses then became warm in the winter and cool in the summer,” the 42-year-old said at his factory in Tainan. “So I was
THE TOUR: Pope Francis has gone on a 12-day visit to Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Singapore. He was also invited to Taiwan The government yesterday welcomed Pope Francis to the Asia-Pacific region and said it would continue extending an invitation for him to visit Taiwan. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs made the remarks as Pope Francis began a 12-day tour of the Asia-Pacific on Monday. He is to travel about 33,000km by air to visit Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Singapore, and would arrive back in Rome on Friday next week. It would be the longest and most challenging trip of Francis’ 11-year papacy. The 87-year-old has had health issues over the past few years and now uses a wheelchair. The ministry said
Discounted 72-hour Taipei Metro passes are to be offered to China Airlines passengers until Feb. 28 next year, the airline announced today. China Airlines passengers may present their boarding pass for a discount of up to 34 percent when buying a Taipei Metro 72-hour unlimited travel pass. The offer is available to international travelers on international flights bound for Taipei. Within seven days of arrival, travelers can present their boarding pass, passport and proof of flight payment at an EZfly counter in Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport or Taoyuan MRT Taipei Main Station to obtain the discounted passes, the airline said. One 72-hour pass
RSS