At the vanguard of these efforts during the UNFCCC’s 25th Conference of the Parties Dec. 2-15 in Madrid was Chang Tzi-chin, minister of the Cabinet-level Environmental Protection Administration. He led a delegation of experts and officials taking part in activities on the sidelines of COP25.
According to the MOFA, these included 42 bilateral meetings with leaders, ministers and other representatives of Taiwan’s allies and like-minded countries such as Japan and the U.S. The delegation also joined seven events promoting the country’s achievements in combating climate change, as well as gave 12 interviews to media outlets from home and abroad.
Several local nongovernmental organizations accredited as UNFCCC observers attended related activities and events, including three staged in conjunction with allies Belize, Guatemala and Tuvalu. In addition, 13 allies publicly backed Taiwan’s bid for UNFCCC participation or sent letters urging the U.N. specialized agency to allow the participation of the country in COP25, the ministry said.
A highly successful initiative is the MOFA’s “Riding the Wind” short film generating 10 million-plus views since its release in the run-up to the climate conference. The emotive production demonstrates how Taiwan is harnessing green energy at state-of-the-art facilities like recently inaugurated offshore wind farm Formosa 1 in Miaoli County, northern Taiwan, to reduce carbon emissions.
According to the MOFA, another successful undertaking was the eye-catching Taiwan Can Help Combat Climate Change advertising featured on bus stops, a delivery van and metro train in Madrid.
This component of the campaign raised awareness of Taiwan’s rock-solid commitment to mitigating the effects of global warming while advancing implementation of the Paris Agreement via professional, pragmatic and constructive participation in the UNFCCC, the ministry said.
