The Ministry of Environment is launching a youth sustainability flagship project aiming to support young people in studying environmentalist policies overseas, Minister of Environment Peng Chi-ming (彭啟明) said yesterday.
The project is aimed at people aged 30 and younger, providing them with NT$1.5 million to NT$2 million (US$45,504 to US$60,672) to study sustainability abroad and bring knowledge of low-carbon policies to Taiwan, Peng said.
The Executive Yuan passed the “Youth Overseas Dream Fund” program in November last year, allocating NT$10 billion for young people to pursue their passions abroad.
Photo: Chen Chia-yi, Taipei Times
Under the program, each government agency would propose an annual flagship project, with this year’s theme being environmental sustainability.
The ministry is taking the lead by developing exchange opportunities with international sustainability organizations through its flagship project.
About 60 participants in the project would first intern at the ministry to learn about the government’s low-carbon initiatives and net zero policies, Peng said.
They would then travel to Europe to learn about carbon cap-and-trade systems, participate in international climate governance exchanges and assist countries in their global warming response work, he said.
Upon returning to Taiwan, the participants would apply the knowledge they gained abroad to help Taiwan implement low-carbon policies, he said.
Application details would be announced at the end of this month, he added.
The ministry is also working with major universities to create a program centered around net zero emissions, Peng said.
It plans to establish net zero training centers in the northern, central, southern and eastern regions of Taiwan, he said.
The National Environmental Research Academy would provide teaching materials and unified exams, and issue program certificates, he said.
The program is expected to begin recruiting in April and would train about 3,500 students, he added.
In other developments, the ministry is planning to hold on Friday the sixth environmental impact assessment (EIA) of Taiwan Power Co’s project to renovate the Hsieh-ho Power Plant (協和電廠).
The proposed project includes transforming the plant from an oil-fired facility into one powered by natural gas, as well as a land reclamation off Keelung’s Waimushan (外木山) to build a fourth liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal.
The first and second versions of the project were not approved by the ministry’s EIA committee.
The third version reduced the land reclamation area to 14.5 hectares and shifted it eastward to the LNG unloading terminal’s harbor basin.
Burning natural gas would also emit air pollution, environmentalist organization Waimushan Protection Team said yesterday.
Northern Taiwan does not have an electricity shortage, it said.
The fourth terminal’s proximity to the Port of Keelung would impact its operations, it added.
If the ministry approves the proposed project, it would harm the port’s economic development, cause national security issues and sacrifice Keelung’s marine sustainability, it said.
The organization is planning to hold a news conference with other activist groups outside Keelung City Hall this morning, it said.
It called on Keelung Mayor George Hsieh (謝國樑) to participate in the environmental impact assessment and fulfill his pre-election promise of protecting the harbor and ocean.
Additional reporting by Tung Kuan-yi
SHIPS, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES: The ministry has announced changes to varied transportation industries taking effect soon, with a number of effects for passengers Beginning next month, the post office is canceling signature upon delivery and written inquiry services for international registered small packets in accordance with the new policy of the Universal Postal Union, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday. The new policy does not apply to packets that are to be delivered to China, the ministry said. Senders of international registered small packets would receive a NT$10 rebate on postage if the packets are sent from Jan. 1 to March 31, it added. The ministry said that three other policies are also scheduled to take effect next month. International cruise ship operators
HORROR STORIES: One victim recounted not realizing they had been stabbed and seeing people bleeding, while another recalled breaking down in tears after fleeing A man on Friday died after he tried to fight the knife-wielding suspect who went on a stabbing spree near two of Taipei’s busiest metro stations, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. The 57-year-old man, identified by his family name, Yu (余), encountered the suspect at Exit M7 of Taipei Main Station and immediately tried to stop him, but was fatally wounded and later died, Chiang said, calling the incident “heartbreaking.” Yu’s family would receive at least NT$5 million (US$158,584) in compensation through the Taipei Rapid Transit Corp’s (TRTC) insurance coverage, he said after convening an emergency security response meeting yesterday morning. National
PLANNED: The suspect visited the crime scene before the killings, seeking information on how to access the roof, and had extensively researched a 2014 stabbing incident The suspect in a stabbing attack that killed three people and injured 11 in Taipei on Friday had planned the assault and set fires at other locations earlier in the day, law enforcement officials said yesterday. National Police Agency (NPA) Director-General Chang Jung-hsin (張榮興) said the suspect, a 27-year-old man named Chang Wen (張文), began the attacks at 3:40pm, first setting off smoke bombs on a road, damaging cars and motorbikes. Earlier, Chang Wen set fire to a rental room where he was staying on Gongyuan Road in Zhongzheng District (中正), Chang Jung-hsin said. The suspect later threw smoke grenades near two exits
The Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency yesterday launched a gift box to market honey “certified by a Formosan black bear” in appreciation of a beekeeper’s amicable interaction with a honey-thieving bear. Beekeeper Chih Ming-chen (池明鎮) in January inspected his bee farm in Hualien County’s Jhuosi Township (卓溪) and found that more than 20 beehives had been destroyed and many hives were eaten, with bear droppings and paw prints near the destroyed hives, the agency said. Chih returned to the farm to move the remaining beehives away that evening when he encountered a Formosan black bear only 20m away, the agency said. The bear
RSS