The government is to launch online climate-education courses for high-school students from the second half of this year, with the aim of inspiring young people to participate in climate initiatives, Minister of Environment Peng Chi-ming said on Friday.
Students who take the courses and pass the exams would be given a certificate, which they can include in their learning profile to aid their university entrance interviews, Peng said.
High-school students cannot wait until Taiwan meets its net zero emissions goals by 2050 to take action on climate issues, he said.
Photo: CNA
“I have been to 11 COP [United Nations Climate Change Conferences’ conferences of the parties] meetings and found that perspectives from young people were usually the most amazing,” he said, adding that their creativity and protests often caught public attention. “Therefore, we hope that young people in Taiwan can also engage in such climate actions.”
Climate Change Administration Net Zero Emissions Promotion Division Director Wen Yu-yung (溫育勇) cited UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres as saying that young people can provide diverse viewpoints and innovative solutions to climate issues, adding that youth participation in climate actions is important.
Therefore, the ministry would launch online courses for high-school students as well as 20 on-campus forums for college students nationwide from this year, he said.
The ministry also initiated the “global climate network” scheme under the Taiwan Global Pathfinders Initiative to subsidize four selected young applicants’ participation in the COP30 in Brazil in November, Wen said.
Administration youth representative Lin Ssu-fan (林思璠), who last year attended COP29 in Azerbaijan, encouraged young people like her to seize opportunities to participate in such meetings, saying they can learn about different countries’ policies on climate issues, while voicing opinions on behalf of young Taiwanese.
Lois Chen (陳羅以), a doctorate student studying climate change and sustainable development at National Taiwan University, who is to attend COP30, said that she became interested in climate issues as a young person in Taitung County, a region heavily affected by natural disasters such as typhoons and landslides.
Her research focuses on flood alert and prevention, and she expects to learn more about climate resilience development in urban and remote areas at COP30, she said.
“As an indigenous person from Taitung, I am also interested in just transition ... and expect to explore how other countries treat disadvantaged groups and reach agreements with them,” Chen said.
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