In a twist to the stand-off between China and the US over greenhouse emission reduction responsibilities, Taiwan appears to set to commit to the hard targets to cut emissions that mainland China rejects.
There appears to be the broad political support necessary in Taipei for laws to cap greenhouse emissions and implement an emissions trading scheme with foreign carbon offset provisions. The Greenhouse Reduction Act is headed for a final vote in the Taiwanese parliament as early as late 2009, Reuters reports, with both major parties broadly supportive despite business sector opposition.
The government has outlined targets to cut the Chinese island economy’s emissions by 20 per cent below 2006 levels by 2025, and by 60 per cent by 2050.
The targets are roughly comparable to those being considered in developed countries, although such reductions fall short of recommendations by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) for 25 to 40 per cent cuts by industrialised nations by 2020.
China, along with India, has so far refused to countenance emissions cuts or any significant curbs on emissions growth that would retard economic growth for its people. Of course, Taiwan is a very different economic and political entity to mainland China. But its manufacturing-based economy is not too dissimilar to the economic growth zones just across the water.
Yang Ching-shi, an executive of Taiwan’s Environmental Protection Administration, told Reuters the island intended to play its part as a member of the world community, despite not being a recognised nation under the UN climate convention. It is the world’s 22nd biggest emitter of fossil-fuel CO2 emissions with national carbon footprint of 270 million tonnes per annum in 2006.
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