Environmental groups today called on politicians to support a new motion to make the Taichung Power Plant coal-free by 2028.
Opposition lawmakers from the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party recently proposed a motion to eliminate the use of coal in the Taichung Power Plant by 2028 as part of the nation’s efforts to reduce carbon emissions.
At a news conference, environmental groups including Air Clean Taiwan and the Changhua Medical Alliance said that they would closely monitor support for the motion and use it as an indicator for evaluating lawmakers’ stance on climate policies.
Photo courtesy of the Taichung City Government
Taiwan’s air quality has improved, although in several cities it still lags behind the most recent standards set by the WHO, Air Clean Taiwan chairman Yeh Guang-perng (葉光芃) said.
Compared to the WHO’s guideline for PM2.5 concentration of 5 micrograms per cubic meter (mg/m3), Taipei’s annual average is close to 12 mg/m3, central Taiwan’s is 15 mg/m3 and the Kaohsiung-Pingtung area's is 18 mg/m3, Yeh said.
Kaohsiung’s Daliao District (大寮) reported the worst air quality in the country, with PM2.5 concentrations at more than 20 mg/m3, more than four times the amount recommended by the WHO, Yeh added.
Clean Air Taichung Alliance executive director Yueh Hsiang-wen (岳祥文) thanked the 29 legislators who have already expressed support for the proposal to make the Taichung Power Plant coal-free by 2028.
Yueh also expressed hope that all 113 lawmakers would vote in favor of the proposal for the sake of people’s health.
Environmental groups would closely watch the 29 legislators who have already signed on to ensure they vote for the proposal, Yueh said, adding that the KMT caucus should mobilize all party members to support the motion.
Civil groups and those who have suffered due to the power plant would make sure to use the vote as a reference for evaluating lawmakers’ stances on climate change, Yueh added.
In November last year, the Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said that the plant would be coal-free by the end of 2034.
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