Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) Deputy Minister Yeh Shin-cheng (葉欣誠) yesterday said Taiwan’s drop in the Climate Change Performance Index 2013 (CCPI 2013) was mainly attributable to a change in the index’s evaluation criteria, adding that the government would continue its efforts to reduce carbon emissions.
The CCPI is conducted annually by non-governmental organizations Germanwatch and Climate Action Network Europe to evaluate the climate protection performance of the 58 countries that are responsible for more than 90 percent of all carbon emissions. The assessment is based on emissions indicators, renewable energy, efficiency and the analyses of more than 230 climate experts from around the world.
The CCPI 2013 report was published on Monday and although Taiwan’s score increased from 49.0 last year to 49.4 this year, it dropped four places in the index’s ranking to 52.
Speaking to the EPA from Doha, Qatar, via the Internet, Yeh said the reason for the drop in ranking was because the index employed a revised methodology that placed a stronger emphasis on renewable energy and efficiency.
Taiwan’s ranking remained in the “very poor” category as it has in previous years, Yeh said, adding that one reason could be that the NGOs may not have collected the most up to date information and progress in Taiwan, such as the promulgation of six types of greenhouse gases as regulated air pollutants in May.
The EPA added that scores were evaluated on five aspects and a total of 15 indicators, on which Taiwan’s performance in emissions levels, emissions development and renewable energy was weak, and only moderately strong on efficiency and policy.
In addition, the nation scored poorly on emissions levels target-performance comparison, share of renewable energy in total primary energy supply and carbon dioxide emissions per capita, the EPA said.
Yeh said the government would continue its efforts to improve the nation’s performance, through measures such as the enforcement of the Renewable Energy Act (再生能源法), enactment of an energy management law and a gas reduction bill, and energy tax regulation.
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