On Oct. 12, the Norwegian Nobel Committee announced that it was awarding the Nobel Peace Prize to former US vice president Al Gore and the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
They were given the award for their "efforts to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about man-made climate change and to lay the foundations for the measures that are needed to counteract such change."
The IPCC is a scientific intergovernmental body set up by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the UN Environment Program (UNEP). It is responsible for assessing "the latest scientific, technical and socio-economic literature produced worldwide" with relevance to the problem of climate change.
Thanks to the efforts of the IPCC, the UN has been able to pay greater attention to the risks of global warming. In 1992, it passed the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), building a fundamental framework through which the international community can address global warming.
To further reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the UNFCCC member states passed the legally binding Kyoto Protocol on Dec. 11, 1997.
The Kyoto Protocol is a control agreement restricting greenhouse gas emissions and reducing the impact of climate change on the environmental ecology.
Article 3 of the protocol states that the signatory 38 industrialized countries and the EU have to reduce their overall greenhouse gas emissions to at least 5 percent below 1990 levels during the five-year commitment period between next year and 2012.
According to Department of Health statistics, Taiwan in ranked 22nd in the world in terms of total carbon dioxide emissions in 2005. From the perspective of sustainable global development, Taiwan is also a member of the global village, and thus has the responsibility and obligation to participate in the global reduction of carbon dioxide emissions.
From the perspective of the relationship between rights and obligations, it is true that Taiwan is not a UN member state, nor is it a member state of the UNFCCC.
UN environmental protection agreements are thus not binding for Taiwan. But given Taiwan's economic strength, the UNFCCC member states will likely expect Taiwan to fulfill the relevant obligations.
As only a UNFCCC signatory, Taiwan is unable to participate in diplomatic negotiations and discussions about the flexibility mechanisms for the reduction of greenhouse gases and cannot make its voice heard on the international stage. However, after agreements are made, Taiwan is forced to accept the decisions.
This state of affairs makes it clear that it is necessary for Taiwan to gain UN membership. This is the only way that the international community will pay attention to the opinions and rights of Taiwanese.
Chen Lung-chu is the chairman of the Taiwan New Century Foundation.
Translated by Eddy Chang
It is employment pass renewal season in Singapore, and the new regime is dominating the conversation at after-work cocktails on Fridays. From September, overseas employees on a work visa would need to fulfill the city-state’s new points-based system, and earn a minimum salary threshold to stay in their jobs. While this mirrors what happens in other countries, it risks turning foreign companies away, and could tarnish the nation’s image as a global business hub. The program was announced in 2022 in a bid to promote fair hiring practices. Points are awarded for how a candidate’s salary compares with local peers, along
China last month enacted legislation to punish —including with the death penalty — “die-hard Taiwanese independence separatists.” The country’s leaders, including Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), need to be reminded about what the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has said and done in the past. They should think about whether those historical figures were also die-hard advocates of Taiwanese independence. The Taiwanese Communist Party was established in the Shanghai French Concession in April 1928, with a political charter that included the slogans “Long live the independence of the Taiwanese people” and “Establish a republic of Taiwan.” The CCP sent a representative, Peng
Japan and the Philippines on Monday signed a defense agreement that would facilitate joint drills between them. The pact was made “as both face an increasingly assertive China,” and is in line with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr’s “effort to forge security alliances to bolster the Philippine military’s limited ability to defend its territorial interests in the South China Sea,” The Associated Press (AP) said. The pact also comes on the heels of comments by former US deputy national security adviser Matt Pottinger, who said at a forum on Tuesday last week that China’s recent aggression toward the Philippines in
The Ministry of National Defense on Tuesday announced that the military would hold its annual Han Kuang exercises from July 22 to 26. Military officers said the exercises would feature unscripted war games, and a decentralized command and control structure. This year’s exercises underline the recent reforms in Taiwan’s military as it transitions from a top-down command structure to one where autonomy is pushed down to the front lines to improve decisionmaking and adaptability. Militaries around the world have been observing and studying Russia’s war in Ukraine. They have seen that the Ukrainian military has been much quicker to adapt to