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Update Date: 2008/09/08 04:09
Government's Efforts to Swap Suits for Smaller Cars Criticized by Environmental Groups as Superficial
[Reporter Wang Changmin/Taipei Report] The new government's energy-saving and carbon reduction initiatives have become mere slogans, with environmental groups harshly criticizing the government for only focusing on superficial actions like having officials remove their suits and switch from large cars to smaller ones. Now, they are advocating for the cancellation of group barbecues during the Mid-Autumn Festival, yet they frequently overlook major development projects by large carbon emitters. The call for energy-saving and carbon reduction is merely for gaining a good reputation and doing superficial work.
Xu Guangrong, executive committee member of the Taiwan Environmental Protection Union and professor at the Department of Atmospheric Sciences at National Taiwan University, stated that whether or not to have a collective barbecue during the Mid-Autumn Festival might make a difference in energy-saving and carbon reduction, but it is not significant. The government should think about how to make festive activities more refined and creative. If done in a refined and healthy manner, even barbecuing could be acceptable.
The Environmental Protection Administration stated that, based on an estimate of a family of four using 1.2 kilograms of charcoal for a barbecue, approximately 4.44 kilograms of carbon dioxide are emitted. The total carbon emissions from the annual Mid-Autumn Festival barbecues in Taiwan amount to about 6,382 metric tons. However, since the Ma administration took office, the approved development projects for power plants and steel mills have increased annual carbon dioxide emissions by more than 15 million metric tons. Considering that Formosa Plastics Group's Sixth Naphtha Cracker emits 67 million metric tons of carbon dioxide annually, it is equivalent to the carbon emissions of 10,498 Mid-Autumn Festival barbecues.
The annual carbon emissions from barbecues in Taiwan are less than 0.002% of the national emissions.
Environmentalists criticize that the carbon emissions from barbecues in Taiwan are less than 0.002% of the current national emissions of 265.5 million metric tons, and even less than 0.04% of the new emissions from the industrial plants opened by the Ma administration. The Mid-Autumn Festival barbecue has been severely stigmatized as a polluting activity, yet the government allows industrial carbon emissions?
Xu Guangrong said that the Ma administration's call for energy-saving and carbon reduction always asks the public to save energy and reduce carbon, but does not address the pollution problems of high-energy-consuming industries. "They pick the easy tasks and avoid facing the real problems."
For example, using air conditioning for one hour emits 0.64 kilograms of carbon dioxide, and watching TV for one hour emits 0.1 kilograms of carbon dioxide. Based on the carbon emissions of Formosa Plastics Group's Sixth Naphtha Cracker, it is equivalent to every person in Taiwan using air conditioning 24 hours a day for 190 days, or watching TV 24 hours a day for more than three years.
Xu Guangrong emphasized that 60% of Taiwan's carbon dioxide emissions come from high-energy-consuming and high-polluting industries, while residential emissions only account for 13%. If the new government talks about energy-saving and carbon reduction but allows projects like Formosa Plastics' steel mill and the Kuokuang Petrochemical Development Project to pass, it is fundamentally contradictory.
Xu Guangrong also criticized that President Ma's carbon reduction timeline, aiming to return to 2000 levels by 2025, only sets long-term goals without short-term targets. "This is an irresponsible approach," contrary to the practices of advanced Western countries.
Taiwan's annual carbon emission growth rate from 1990 to 2006 was already the highest in the world. The government continues to allow high-energy-consuming major development projects to pass, with ineffective environmental oversight. "Very few development projects fail to pass," and Taiwan will pay a heavy price someday.
Pan Hansheng, Secretary-General of the Taiwan Green Party, stated that the Ma administration not only overlooks high-energy-consuming development projects but also shows signs of reviving some road development projects. He said that the government should formulate a national energy development and management strategy, including promoting energy taxes, encouraging the transformation of high-energy-consuming industries, and improving energy efficiency.Lee Ken-cheng, CEO of the Earth Citizen Association, stated that the most notable feature of the Ma administration's energy-saving and carbon reduction measures is the agreement with businesses to comply with future carbon emission regulations. However, this is merely a "blank check," as it is uncertain whether businesses will be required to comply in the future. The government is also unwilling to impose total carbon emission controls. Their so-called replacement of old equipment with new or efficiency improvements only reduces the carbon emissions per unit of production capacity for new development projects. However, as long as production capacity increases, the total carbon emissions will also increase, yet remain completely unregulated.
Sixth Naphtha Cracker's Annual Emissions Equal 10,000 Years of Mid-Autumn BBQ
Government's Efforts to Swap Suits for Smaller Cars Criticized by Environmental Groups as Superficial
[Reporter Wang Changmin/Taipei Report] The new government's energy-saving and carbon reduction initiatives have become mere slogans, with environmental groups harshly criticizing the government for only focusing on superficial actions like having officials remove their suits and switch from large cars to smaller ones. Now, they are advocating for the cancellation of group barbecues during the Mid-Autumn Festival, yet they frequently overlook major development projects by large carbon emitters. The call for energy-saving and carbon reduction is merely for gaining a good reputation and doing superficial work.
Xu Guangrong, executive committee member of the Taiwan Environmental Protection Union and professor at the Department of Atmospheric Sciences at National Taiwan University, stated that whether or not to have a collective barbecue during the Mid-Autumn Festival might make a difference in energy-saving and carbon reduction, but it is not significant. The government should think about how to make festive activities more refined and creative. If done in a refined and healthy manner, even barbecuing could be acceptable.
The Environmental Protection Administration stated that, based on an estimate of a family of four using 1.2 kilograms of charcoal for a barbecue, approximately 4.44 kilograms of carbon dioxide are emitted. The total carbon emissions from the annual Mid-Autumn Festival barbecues in Taiwan amount to about 6,382 metric tons. However, since the Ma administration took office, the approved development projects for power plants and steel mills have increased annual carbon dioxide emissions by more than 15 million metric tons. Considering that Formosa Plastics Group's Sixth Naphtha Cracker emits 67 million metric tons of carbon dioxide annually, it is equivalent to the carbon emissions of 10,498 Mid-Autumn Festival barbecues.
The annual carbon emissions from barbecues in Taiwan are less than 0.002% of the national emissions.
Environmentalists criticize that the carbon emissions from barbecues in Taiwan are less than 0.002% of the current national emissions of 265.5 million metric tons, and even less than 0.04% of the new emissions from the industrial plants opened by the Ma administration. The Mid-Autumn Festival barbecue has been severely stigmatized as a polluting activity, yet the government allows industrial carbon emissions?
Xu Guangrong said that the Ma administration's call for energy-saving and carbon reduction always asks the public to save energy and reduce carbon, but does not address the pollution problems of high-energy-consuming industries. "They pick the easy tasks and avoid facing the real problems."
For example, using air conditioning for one hour emits 0.64 kilograms of carbon dioxide, and watching TV for one hour emits 0.1 kilograms of carbon dioxide. Based on the carbon emissions of Formosa Plastics Group's Sixth Naphtha Cracker, it is equivalent to every person in Taiwan using air conditioning 24 hours a day for 190 days, or watching TV 24 hours a day for more than three years.
Xu Guangrong emphasized that 60% of Taiwan's carbon dioxide emissions come from high-energy-consuming and high-polluting industries, while residential emissions only account for 13%. If the new government talks about energy-saving and carbon reduction but allows projects like Formosa Plastics' steel mill and the Kuokuang Petrochemical Development Project to pass, it is fundamentally contradictory.
Xu Guangrong also criticized that President Ma's carbon reduction timeline, aiming to return to 2000 levels by 2025, only sets long-term goals without short-term targets. "This is an irresponsible approach," contrary to the practices of advanced Western countries.
Taiwan's annual carbon emission growth rate from 1990 to 2006 was already the highest in the world. The government continues to allow high-energy-consuming major development projects to pass, with ineffective environmental oversight. "Very few development projects fail to pass," and Taiwan will pay a heavy price someday.
Pan Hansheng, Secretary-General of the Taiwan Green Party, stated that the Ma administration not only overlooks high-energy-consuming development projects but also shows signs of reviving some road development projects. He said that the government should formulate a national energy development and management strategy, including promoting energy taxes, encouraging the transformation of high-energy-consuming industries, and improving energy efficiency.Lee Ken-cheng, CEO of the Earth Citizen Association, stated that the most notable feature of the Ma administration's energy-saving and carbon reduction measures is the agreement with businesses to comply with future carbon emission regulations. However, this is merely a "blank check," as it is uncertain whether businesses will be required to comply in the future. The government is also unwilling to impose total carbon emission controls. Their so-called replacement of old equipment with new or efficiency improvements only reduces the carbon emissions per unit of production capacity for new development projects. However, as long as production capacity increases, the total carbon emissions will also increase, yet remain completely unregulated.