The Taiwanese public is highly aware of the global climate change issue, but perhaps underestimates the gravity of the problem, European Economic and Trade Office (EETO) director Guy Ledoux said at the opening of an exhibition on climate change at Taipei City Hall yesterday.
“Taiwan is the world’s 26th-largest economy and produces around 1 percent of the world’s total greenhouse gas emissions. During the past 18 years, Taiwan’s carbon dioxide emissions have grown by more than 140 percent. It is time for Taiwan to seriously face up to this challenge,” he said, urging the quick passage of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Act currently under legislative review.
The purpose of the exhibition, Ledoux said, is to raise public awareness on the seriousness of global warming and how it affects the daily lives of people in Taiwan.
A recent poll by the Taiwan Public Opinion Studies Association showed that a majority of Taiwanese believe environmental protection should take precedence over economic development, he said.
However, the poll indicated that the top three environmental issues among Taiwanese are landscape preservation, air quality improvement and water quality improvement, Ledoux said.
He said this showed that Taiwanese are aware of global warming, but often underestimate its seriousness.
To help combat global warming, the EU and Taiwan have made joint efforts to establish reliable monitoring of carbon dioxide levels over the Pacific Ocean.
Ledoux said that China Airlines and the Evergreen Group last year agreed to participate in the European IAGOS (Integration of routine Aircraft measurements into a Global Observing System) initiative and the Pacific Greenhouse Gases Measurement project.
“In a few months, you will have China Airlines planes fitted with special equipment which will allow them to measure the amounts of carbon dioxide over the Pacific Ocean. Similar equipment will also be fitted on Evergreen ships crossing the Pacific Ocean,” he said.
The exhibition ends tomorrow, but will return from July 4 to July 8 before going on a five-college campus tour in October, the EETO said.
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