Taiwan ranked third in Asia and 32nd worldwide in the 2009 Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI) for emissions last year, a report by Climate Action Network Europe (CAN-Europe) and Germanwatch, two non-governmental organizations, showed.
The report's evaluation of Taiwan was based on research by Lee Chien-ming (李堅明), an assistant professor at National Taipei University's Institute of Natural Resource Management, a Council for Economic Planning and Development official said yesterday.
“Taiwan was included in the global analysis for the first time in 2008. The report can help the country better understand the effectiveness of its policy on cutting carbon-dioxide emissions and boosting energy savings,” the official said.
Citing a lack of will among countries to engage themselves more strongly to prevent climate change, the report did not award the top three places in the global rankings to any country.
That would put Taiwan in 29th position among the 57 countries in the list, which together were responsible for 90 percent of annual carbon-dioxide emissions worldwide.
Sweden, Germany and France placed fourth, fifth and sixth respectively. Sweden, Germany and Iceland ranked in the top three in 2007, it said.
“Not a single country is to be judged as satisfactory with regard to protecting the climate. The specific criterion for this judgment is that, compared with 1990, no country is yet on the path that would be necessary to stay within the 2 degrees limit,” the report said.
Taiwan's third place spot in Asia put it ahead of Singapore (38), South Korea (41), Japan (43) and China (49), but behind India (7) and Indonesia (27).
Among the 12 different indicators which were classified into three categories — emissions trends, emissions levels and climate policy — to measure its performance, Taiwan was given full marks for renewable energy emissions but ranked poorly in primary energy units per capita, carbon dioxide per primary energy unit, electricity, and manufacturing and construction.
Looking at the other end of the index, Saudi Arabia placed last in the evaluation chart, the CCPI report said, adding that Austria (50), Russia (54), the US (58) and Canada (59) also had worrying results, performing poorly in terms of current emissions levels, emissions trends and in the evaluation of their climate policies.
Introduced to a professional audience for the first time at the 11th Global Climate Summit in Montreal in 2005, the CCPI is presented every year at the UN Climate Change Conference to draw as much attention as possible in the observed countries and promote discussions on climate change.
EVA Air is prohibiting the use of portable chargers on board all flights starting from Saturday, while China Airlines is advising passengers not to use them, following the lead of South Korean airlines. Current regulations prohibit portable chargers and lithium batteries from check-in luggage and require them to be properly packed in carry-on baggage, EVA Air said. To improve onboard safety, portable chargers and spare lithium batteries would be prohibited from use on all fights starting on Saturday, it said. Passengers are advised to fully charge electronic devices before boarding and use the AC and USB charging outlets at their seat, it said. South
Hong Kong-based American singer-songwriter Khalil Fong (方大同) has passed away at the age of 41, Fong’s record label confirmed yesterday. “With unwavering optimism in the face of a relentless illness for five years, Khalil Fong gently and gracefully bid farewell to this world on the morning of February 21, 2025, stepping into the next realm of existence to carry forward his purpose and dreams,” Fu Music wrote on the company’s official Facebook page. “The music and graphic novels he gifted to the world remain an eternal testament to his luminous spirit, a timeless treasure for generations to come,” it said. Although Fong’s
WAR SIMULATION: The developers of the board game ‘2045’ consulted experts and analysts, and made maps based on real-life Chinese People’s Liberation Army exercises To stop invading Chinese forces seizing Taiwan, board gamer Ruth Zhong chooses the nuclear option: Dropping an atomic bomb on Taipei to secure the nation’s freedom and her victory. The Taiwanese board game 2045 is a zero-sum contest of military strategy and individual self-interest that puts players on the front lines of a simulated Chinese attack. Their battlefield game tactics would determine the theoretical future of Taiwan, which in the real world faces the constant threat of a Chinese invasion. “The most interesting part of this game is that you have to make continuous decisions based on the evolving situation,
China’s military buildup in the southern portion of the first island chain poses a serious threat to Taiwan’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply, a defense analyst warned. Writing in a bulletin on the National Defense and Security Research’s Web site on Thursday, Huang Tsung-ting (黃宗鼎) said that China might choke off Taiwan’s energy supply without it. Beginning last year, China entrenched its position in the southern region of the first island chain, often with Russia’s active support, he said. In May of the same year, a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) force consisting of a Type 054A destroyer, Type 055 destroyer,
RSS