Download The Republic of China (Taiwan) Seeking Meaningful Participation in

The Republic of China (Taiwan) Seeks Meaningful Participation in
the UNFCCC
2013.09.26
The challenges posed by climate change have continued to grow during
the past decade. As no country will be immune to the impact of global
warming, it is of extreme importance that we address these challenges in
a global manner to ensure our planet’s sustainable development.
Although the Republic of China (Taiwan) has been excluded from the
UNFCCC and its related mechanisms, it remains keen to join
international efforts aimed at saving energy and reducing carbon
emissions. As a responsible member of the international community,
Taiwan is committed to contributing to the fight against climate change,
and is one of the few countries to have voluntarily announced reduction
targets for carbon dioxide emissions.
Taiwan is determined to reduce carbon dioxide emissions
According to the 2012 Key World Energy Statistics released by the
International Energy Agency (IEA), Taiwan’s carbon dioxide emissions
amounted to 270.22 million tons in 2010, making it the world’s 20th
largest emitter with 0.89% of the total. Taiwan also ranks as the 20 th
largest emitter per capita, at 11.66 metric tons. It aims to bring national
carbon dioxide emissions from fuel combustion back to 2005 levels by
2020, and to 2000 levels by 2025, in line with global trends in this field.
In addition, Taiwan has been striving to improve energy efficiency by
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more than 2% per year in the period 2008-2015, so as to reduce energy
intensity by more than 20% by 2015 compared to 2005 levels, and by
50% by 2050.
Moreover, Taiwan has decided to reduce its greenhouse gas (GHG)
emissions by at least 30% relative to the business-as-usual (BAU)
benchmark by 2020. This scale of reduction is much higher than that of
countries with similarly sized economies and higher than the 15%-30%
reduction target by 2020 based on BAU for developing countries
proposed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
In fact, the aforementioned efforts are beginning to pay off. Earlier this
year, the Bureau of Energy of the Ministry of Economic Affairs released
data showing that Taiwan’s carbon dioxide emissions were 248.7 million
tons in 2012, a reduction of 1.9% compared to 2011, moving closer to the
2005 level of 245.2 million tons.
Taiwan aims to create a green environment
Taiwan continues to play an important role in terms of reducing carbon
emissions by making effective use of its advantages in high-tech and
design. Taiwan has made significant headway in upgrading its solar and
wind power capacity. Currently, Taiwan is the world’s largest LED
manufacturer and the second largest solar cell producer. It is also the
world’s eighth largest manufacturer of 2MW wind turbine generators.
In 2012 alone, the total investment in green industries in Taiwan was
around US$1.44 billion. Total output exceeded US$12.5 billion, creating
65,100 job opportunities.
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In addition, Taiwan has designed a series of clean energy projects for
Solomon Islands, the Marshall Islands, Tuvalu, Nauru, Palau, Kiribati,
and Papua New Guinea. These projects include distribution of solar street
lighting systems and installation of solar PV systems.
Taiwan’s current participation in the UNFCCC
Direct and regular access to meetings and activities of the UNFCCC
would enable Taiwan to better deal with the impact of climate change.
However, in light of the realities of Taiwan’s unique political status,
Taiwan has until now been represented by the Industrial Technology
Research Institute (ITRI) as an observer in sessions of the Conference of
the Parties (COP). As an observer, delegates from Taiwan have only
limited access to COP events. ITRI has been holding side events at COP
sessions since 2010, so as to demonstrate Taiwan’s determination to join
global efforts to combat climate change. However, Taiwan can only
enhance its contributions if it is able to participate in COP and the
UNFCCC in a more comprehensive manner.
Taiwan Continues to Receive International Support
Since 2009, Taiwan has garnered support from various parliamentary
bodies for its meaningful participation in the UNFCCC. These include the
European Parliament, the Central American Parliament (PARLACEN),
the Association of Pacific Island Legislatures (APIL), the US Midwestern
Legislative Conference (MLC) of the Council of State Governments, the
Asian-Pacific Parliamentarians’ Union (APPU), the Council of State
Governments/Eastern Regional Conference (CSG/ERC), the National
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Congress of Belgium, the Senate of the Republic of Colombia, the
National Assembly of Panama and 23 US state legislatures (including
state-level senates and houses of representatives).
In 2012, 10 allies voiced support for Taiwan’s meaningful participation in
the UNFCCC at the high-level segment of COP18. Furthermore, 15 allies
wrote to UNFCCC Executive Secretary Ms. Christiana Figueres in
support of Taiwan.
Taiwan is ready to participate in the UNFCCC as an observer
Since May 2009, Taiwan’s Ministry of Health and Welfare has been
invited to attend the World Health Assembly (WHA) as an observer under
the designation “Chinese Taipei.” Meanwhile, on September 11 this year,
the President of the Council of the International Civil Aviation
Organization (ICAO) officially invited the ROC’s Civil Aeronautics
Administration (CAA) to attend the 38th Session of the Assembly of
ICAO as his guest under the name “Chinese Taipei.”
Since global warming has become one of the major threats to human
development, there can be no gaps in global efforts to combat climate
change. With its technological know-how and experience, Taiwan can be
an important partner. Therefore, Taiwan strongly urges the international
community to support its participation in the UNFCCC by granting the
ROC’s Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) observer status in
COP.
Conclusion
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By looking at past examples, as well as the efforts we have made in
assisting our allies in fighting climate change, we firmly believe that we
are well-qualified to participate in the UNFCCC as an observer, and we
seek your support for Taiwan’s inclusion.
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