The best kind of energy is conservation, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that Taiwan is willing to address climate challenges jointly with China and other countries.
Climate change poses challenges to national resilience and sustainable development, with Typhoon Krathon — which made landfall in Kaohsiung earlier this month — a prime example, Lai told the second meeting of the National Climate Change Committee.
Taiwanese must work together to build up national resilience against such challenges, and Taiwan would be “willing to bolster cooperation with China and other countries to deal with climate change,” he said.
Photo: CNA
While the 2015 Paris Agreement requires countries to update nationally determined contributions (NDCs) every five years, the 26th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP26) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change has increased the frequency to every two years to expedite the global carbon-reduction process, Lai said, adding that the next NDC submission date is early next year.
To ensure stable and resilient energy supply, policies and measures revolving around “the second energy transition” would be implemented, including a carbon-fee program launched this month and to be implemented from next year, he said.
The government would promote in-depth energy conservation and applications of energy-storage technology to facilitate the energy transformation, as well as the development of next-generation industries, Lai said.
More renewable energy and green growth opportunities would be explored to steadily move toward the net zero goal by 2050, he added.
Taiwan plays a pivotal role in the global technology supply chain and must step up climate action to boost its international industrial competitiveness, as well as develop NDCs in line with international trends, Lai said.
Stable power supply is the cornerstone of Taiwan’s economic development, as it would attract foreign investments to support the domestic industrial ecosystem, he said.
“The best energy comes from energy saving,” Lai said, adding that energy conservation is more efficient than developing electric power sources and one of the most effective carbon reduction strategies.
To boost energy efficiency is an international consensus and trend, considering that COP28 last year set a goal to double the global average annual rate of energy efficiency improvements to 4 percent from 2 percent by 2030, he said.
The government would continue to implement energy-saving policies and encourage in-depth energy conservation across all industries, Lai said.
From high-carbon emissions companies to hospitals, schools, families and individuals, everyone is required to take part in the in-depth energy conservation campaign along with the government to form a strong team, he added.
Energy service companies (ESCo) would also be a crucial part in the program, as they could formulate highly cost-efficient energy saving plans tailored to each company, Lai said, adding that government funds would be allocated to incentivize or subsidize investments in industrial energy conservation.
The government would collaborate with insurance companies to establish ESCo mechanisms to provide funding for companies to advance equipment and manufacturing processes, he said.
While lower electricity fees would benefit investors, insurance premiums would be invested into national infrastructure, forming a circular economy, Lai said.
As long as everyone works together to make the energy transition reality, Taiwan would be able to seize the opportunity of ensuring sustainable growth for generations to come, he said, adding that the government would follow the examples of the UK and Japan to accelerate net zero carbon emissions.
Eight restaurants in Taiwan yesterday secured a one-star rating from the Michelin Guide Taiwan for the first time, while three one-star restaurants from last year’s edition were promoted to two stars. Forty-three restaurants were awarded one star this year, including 34 in Taipei, five in Taichung and four in Kaohsiung. Hosu (好嶼), Chuan Ya (川雅), Sushi Kajin (鮨嘉仁), aMaze (心宴), La Vie by Thomas Buhner, Yuan Yi (元一) and Frassi in Taipei and Front House (方蒔) in Kaohsiung received a one-star rating for the first time. Hosu is known for innovative Taiwanese dishes, while Chuan Ya serves Sichuan cuisine and aMaze specializes
Taitung County is to launch charter flights to Malaysia at the end of this year, after setting up flights to Vietnam and Thailand, the Taitung County Government said yesterday. The new charter flight services, provided by low-cost carrier Batik Air Malaysia, would be part of five-day tour packages for visits to Taitung County or Malaysia. The Batik Air charter flight, with about 200 seats, would take Malaysian tourists to Taitung on Dec. 30 and then at 12:35pm return to Kuala Lumpur with Taiwanese tourists. Another charter flight would bring the Taiwanese home on Jan. 3 next year, arriving at 5:30pm, before taking the
Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. (THSRC) plans to ease strained capacity during peak hours by introducing new fare rules restricting passengers traveling without reserved seats in 2026, company Chairman Shih Che (史哲) said Wednesday. THSRC needs to tackle its capacity issue because there have been several occasions where passengers holding tickets with reserved seats did not make it onto their train in stations packed with individuals traveling without a reserved seat, Shih told reporters in a joint interview in Taipei. Non-reserved seats allow travelers maximum flexibility, but it has led to issues relating to quality of service and safety concerns, especially during
An exhibition celebrating Taiwan and Japan’s comic culture opened on Saturday in Taichung, featuring a section that explores Taiwanese reproductions of Japanese comics from when martial law limited Japanese representation. “A Century of Manga Culture: An Encounter of Taiwan and Japan’s Youth” held its Taiwan opening ceremony at Taichung’s National Taiwan Museum of Comics after an initial one-month run in Japan’s Kyoto International Manga Museum between May 24 and June 24. Much like the Kyoto exhibition, the show mainly celebrates the comic connection between Taiwan and Japan through late Taiwanese comic book
RSS