The Ministry of Environment is to establish an alliance to propose heat response plans by the end of next month amid global climate change.
High temperatures are the most tangible signs of climate change for the public, and to help people adapt to a warmer environment, the ministry is setting up the High Temperature Response Alliance, Climate Change Administration Deputy Director-General Hsu Hsu-cheng (徐旭誠) said on Saturday.
The effort would be focused on protecting high-risk groups, such as agricultural workers and others who work outdoors, from heat hazards, he said.
Photo courtesy of the New Taipei City Labor Affairs Department
The ministry would also collaborate with local governments to create “cool maps” of comfortable outdoor activity sites for the public and would help shape a heat-response industrial chain, he said.
More than 70 percent of the heat transferred into buildings in Taiwan results from solar heat passing through glass doors or windows, while only about 20 percent is conducted through walls, National Cheng Kung University architecture professor Lin Tzu-ping (林子平) said.
Therefore, installing outdoor sun-shading structures is the most effective method to prevent solar heat from entering buildings, Lin said.
Indoor heat-blocking measures would be the second-best approach, such as using window blinds or covering glass doors or windows with thermal insulation film, he said.
Regarding electricity use, residential and commercial properties accounted for about 22 percent of total power consumption, he said.
While newly constructed buildings are required to meet energy efficiency standards, Taiwan lacks an effective energy-saving scheme for existing buildings, Lin said.
The Ministry of the Interior should follow the example of the Netherlands and mandate the disclosure of buildings’ energy efficiency ratings in profiles of housing for rent or sale, he said.
“Just as we would consider fuel consumption when buying a vehicle, we should also consider a building’s power consumption before renting or buying it,” Lin said, adding that tax deductions or other incentives could encourage landlords or building owners to disclose energy efficiency ratings.
Boosting buildings’ heat-blocking efficacy to reduce indoor temperatures can reduce power consumption and carbon emissions, Department of Comprehensive Planning Director Hung Shu-sing (洪淑幸) said.
While the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Economic Affairs are responsible for promoting building energy conservation for the residential and commercial sector, the enviro`nment ministry would plan budgets to subsidize heat insulation projects for existing housing, Hung said.
The replacement of traditional windows with heat-blocking units and the enhancement of roof heat insulation at schools would be prioritized, with subsidy details to be discussed, she added.
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