TAIWAN SAYS TO CUT CO2 EMISSIONS 30 PCT BY 2020
Taiwan has pledged to sharply cut the growth of its carbon emissions as part of global efforts to fight climate change, officials said on Tuesday.
The move by the wealthy island known as a global electronics manufacturing centre is part of the government’s goal to boost Taiwan’s profile and to try to win approval for some sort of U.N. role that has been repeatedly blocked by China.
Carbon dioxide emissions from all sources island-wide, from farms to factories, should drop by 2020 to 2005 levels of about 257 million metric tonnes, or at least 30 percent below the 2020 “business-as-usual” emissions total without intervention, the Environmental Protection Administration said.
“If we can reach our maximum, that would be the most stringent goal in Asia,” EPA Executive Secretary Hsiao Hui-chuan told Reuters in an interview.
Japan has pledged to cut emissions by 25 percent by 2020 from 1990 levels on condition of a tougher global climate deal being reached. South Korea has pledged to voluntarily cut emissions by 30 percent by 2020 from “business-as-usual” levels.
“It’s not about our air, it’s global,” Hsiao said. “Taiwan thinks it’s a global player. A lot of people tell us this is advantageous for getting a role in the U.N. convention,” she said, referring to the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
For the full article: Alertnet – Reuters
Contribution by Jo
