The G8 industrialized nations will jointly invest more than US$10 billion a year on research and development of technology to combat global warming, a report said yesterday.
The plan, including research on underground storage of carbon dioxides, is included in a draft joint statement on economic policy to be adopted at the G8 summit scheduled for July 7 to July 9 in Japan, the business daily Nikkei Shimbun said.
Climate change will dominate the summit, which will bring together leaders from Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the US to the northern Japanese resort of Toyako.
The Nikkei said it had an outline of the draft statement.
The draft was reported to say that the G8 leaders would also seek an agreement on setting country-by-country goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions over the medium term from 2013.
They will also express their determination to avert a global economic crisis through coordinated efforts to deal with the impact of soaring oil and food prices, the daily said.
On July 9, the Major Economies Meeting on Energy Security and Climate Change, a 16-nation forum including China and India, will be held on the sidelines of the G8 summit and issue a separate statement, the daily said.
The draft of the G8 economic statement points to the importance of imposing a long-term goal for cutting global emissions.
But, because Japan and Europe differ with the US over long-term numerical targets, a final decision on the question may be left to the G8 leaders when they meet at Toyako, the report said.
Japan and Europe want gas emissions to be halved around the world by 2050, while the US is cautious about establishing such an ambitious goal, it said.
WAITING GAME: The US has so far only offered a ‘best rate tariff,’ which officials assume is about 15 percent, the same as Japan, a person familiar with the matter said Taiwan and the US have completed “technical consultations” regarding tariffs and a finalized rate is expected to be released soon, Executive Yuan spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) told a news conference yesterday, as a 90-day pause on US President Donald Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs is set to expire today. The two countries have reached a “certain degree of consensus” on issues such as tariffs, nontariff trade barriers, trade facilitation, supply chain resilience and economic security, Lee said. They also discussed opportunities for cooperation, investment and procurement, she said. A joint statement is still being negotiated and would be released once the US government has made
NEW GEAR: On top of the new Tien Kung IV air defense missiles, the military is expected to place orders for a new combat vehicle next year for delivery in 2028 Mass production of Tien Kung IV (Sky Bow IV) missiles is expected to start next year, with plans to order 122 pods, the Ministry of National Defense’s (MND) latest list of regulated military material showed. The document said that the armed forces would obtain 46 pods of the air defense missiles next year and 76 pods the year after that. The Tien Kung IV is designed to intercept cruise missiles and ballistic missiles to an altitude of 70km, compared with the 60km maximum altitude achieved by the Missile Segment Enhancement variant of PAC-3 systems. A defense source said yesterday that the number of
Taiwanese exports to the US are to be subject to a 20 percent tariff starting on Thursday next week, according to an executive order signed by US President Donald Trump yesterday. The 20 percent levy was the same as the tariffs imposed on Vietnam, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh by Trump. It was higher than the tariffs imposed on Japan, South Korea and the EU (15 percent), as well as those on the Philippines (19 percent). A Taiwan official with knowledge of the matter said it is a "phased" tariff rate, and negotiations would continue. "Once negotiations conclude, Taiwan will obtain a better
FLOOD RECOVERY: “Post-Typhoon Danas reconstruction special act” is expected to be approved on Thursday, the premier said, adding the flood control in affected areas would be prioritized About 200cm of rainfall fell in parts of southern Taiwan from Monday last week to 9am yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Kaohsiung’s Taoyuan District (桃源) saw total rainfall of 2,205mm, while Pingtung County’s Sandimen Township (三地門) had 2,060.5mm and Tainan’s Nanhua District (南化) 1,833mm, according to CWA data. Meanwhile, Alishan (阿里山) in Chiayi County saw 1,688mm of accumulated rain and Yunlin County’s Caoling (草嶺) had 1,025mm. The Pingtung County Government said that 831 local residents have been pre-emptively evacuated from mountainous areas. A total of 576 are staying with relatives in low-lying areas, while the other 255 are in shelters. CWA forecaster
RSS