Taiwan is seeking meaningful participation in the UNFCCC to expand its contributions to combating climate change.

Launched in 2014 by Taiwan and the U.S., the International Environmental Partnership (IEP) is a network of experts from around the world working to strengthen capacity in tackling environmental challenges. Under the initiative, Taiwan’s Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency jointly stage events aimed at bolstering conservation, enforcement and remediation practices in such areas as clean air, climate change, electronic waste management, groundwater and soil contamination, and mercury monitoring.

The most recent of these gatherings was the Air Quality Management Policy Exchange Workshop held June 4-7 in Taipei City. About 30 experts and officials from Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mongolia, Nepal, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam shared experiences on air pollution observation and regulation. The workshop also served as a preparatory meeting for the establishment of an air quality cooperation and training platform under the IEP.

To date, more than 80 events involving policymakers and specialists from 40 countries have taken place through the partnership. According to EPA Minister Lee Ying-yuan (李應元‬), these are part of the government’s efforts to advance environmental diplomacy and foster climate protection in the international community. Further evidence of Taiwan’s commitment in this regard can be found in its adoption of the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), he added.

In September 2017 at a conference in New York, Lee unveiled Taiwan’s first Voluntary National Review on implementation of the 17 goals. The report details the country’s measures and progress toward achieving the objectives, including its impressive performance in areas shown to promote the formulation of effective environmental policy like access to education and women’s participation in politics.

“Taiwan is ready and willing to share its knowledge and experiences with the international community to help advance the SDGs around the world,” Lee said. The most effective way to ensure Taiwan can support sustainable development and fulfill its environmental obligations, he noted, is to facilitate the nation’s meaningful participation in meetings and activities under the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

Pursuing Cooperation

Entering into force in 1994, the UNFCCC serves as the main vehicle for stabilizing global greenhouse gas concentrations. Signatories meet annually for the Conference of the Parties (COP), with the 24th edition scheduled to take place Dec. 3-14 in Katowice, Poland.

As Taiwan is not a party to the convention, the nation is shut out of official events. “Global climate change is an issue of life and death that knows no political boundaries,” Lee said. “Excluding Taiwan from the COP is incompatible with the convention’s call for extensive cooperation among all nations on environmental issues, ignores the Paris Agreement’s emphasis on climate justice, and violates the principles of the U.N. Charter.” Despite this unjust treatment, Taiwan has not been discouraged from seeking participation in a “professional, pragmatic and constructive manner,” he added.

At COP24, parties will meet to work out and adopt a package of decisions to implement the Paris Agreement. The accord, adopted at COP21 and scheduled to commence in 2020, covers adaptation, financing and mitigation policies for reducing greenhouse gases. Discussions at the Katowice conference are expected to address such issues as working toward carbon neutrality by controlling emissions and increasing sequestration through forests and soils.

Continuing its decadeslong efforts, the EPA is helping arrange a delegation to the summit comprising representatives from Taiwan’s academic, business, nongovernmental, research and public sectors. The group will organize sideline events and meetings as well as set up stalls at exhibition venues.

NGO Engagement

Minimal participation of high-ranking officials has restricted Taiwan’s contributions to global environmental programs. In the face of this exclusion, local nongovernmental organizations (NGO) work to facilitate the nation’s engagement in climate solutions.

Ten Taiwan groups have been granted observer status by the UNFCCC. These include Industrial Technology Research Institute; Taiwan Carbon Capture Storage and Utilization Association (TCCSUA); Taiwan Institute for Sustainable Energy (TAISE); Taiwan Research Institute (TRI); and Mom Loves Taiwan Association, an organization bringing together environmentally conscientious women.

According to Ku Young (顧洋), who doubles as TRI vice president and TAISE chief executive officer, the escalating and uncertain impacts of climate change necessitate expanded international collaboration. Through participation in environmental conferences and events, “local groups can collect information about attitudes and responses to this challenge and build a clearer global picture so that Taiwan can respond accordingly.”

TCCSUA Chairman Ma Hsiao-kang (馬小康) agrees that it is vital to foster stable, substantial connections with networks like the UNFCCC so as to stay informed of the latest advances and obligations. “Involvement can also help boost Taiwan’s international presence and spotlight the nation’s sincerity” in combating environmental threats, he said.

City Exchanges

Taiwan’s local governments also play an important role in enhancing the country’s global engagement through hosting and sending representatives to climate conferences. Wang Mei-wen (王美文), deputy commissioner of New Taipei City’s Environmental Protection Department, shared the municipality’s experiences in strengthening climate adaptability and resilience at side activities organized for COP23 by Local Governments for Sustainability (ICLEI).

Founded in 1990 as the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives, the Germany-based association consists of around 1,500 cities, towns and regions in more than 80 countries. New Taipei holds a seat on the ICLEI East Asia Regional Executive Committee and staged its annual meeting in September 2017 alongside the Climate Change and City Transformation Forum. The seminar was attended by ICLEI member representatives from 11 countries including Australia, India, Japan, New Zealand, the Philippines and South Korea.

In 2016, New Taipei established a deputy mayor-headed climate change task force, the first of its kind among local governments in Taiwan. Wang’s department oversees carbon reduction policies determined by the interagency group, with the Urban and Rural Development Department implementing adaptation measures. These efforts are aimed at reducing emissions in accordance with central government targets specified in the Greenhouse Gas Reduction and Management Act, she said.

Promulgated in July 2015, the law sets a goal of lowering the nation’s carbon emissions to half the 2005 levels by 2050. To achieve this target, EPA regulations stipulate intervening decreases of 2 percent, 10 percent and 20 percent below 2005 levels by 2020, 2025 and 2030, respectively.

“In New Taipei, we’ve gone a step further by striving for 9 percent under 2005 levels by 2020,” Wang said. “As fuel combustion for power generation accounts for 90 percent of emissions, we’re focusing on energy-saving measures and expanding use of renewable resources.”

Energy Restructuring

New Taipei’s efforts to foster renewables are in line with the national energy restructuring plan. Statistics from the Bureau of Energy under the Ministry of Economic Affairs reveal that last year 47 percent of Taiwan’s power was generated from coal, 34 percent from natural gas, 8 percent from nuclear, 6 percent from renewable sources and 5 percent from oil. By 2025, the government aims to achieve a nuclear-free homeland by changing these numbers to 50 percent for natural gas, 30 percent for coal and 20 percent for renewables, with solar and wind set to contribute the majority of the latter.

To strike a balance between growth and environmental protection, the government has also made the promotion of circular economy practices a core component of its national development strategy. According to EPA Minister Lee, in 2017 the country’s resource recovery rate was 52.5 percent, trailing only Germany and Austria. Taiwan has also emerged as a global leader in related industrial applications, he said, noting that about half of the 32 teams at the 2018 FIFA World Cup wore jerseys made using recycled plastic bottle fibers from local textile companies.

“As the world’s 22nd largest economy, Taiwan has a key role to play in maintaining prosperity and stability in the Indo-Pacific as well as tackling the urgent threat posed by climate change,” Lee said. “No one should be left behind in this fight. Taiwan must not be excluded from the UNFCCC.”

This article appears on Taiwan Today.