Minister of the Environmental Protection Administration Wei Kuo-yen said Taiwan should be allowed to join the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Wei made the comment in an article he wrote in The Diplomat on Tuesday.
In the article, Wei said that Taiwan’s carbon emissions have stabilized in recent years due to ambitious government policies. Although emissions in 2013 totaled 250.3 million tons, a slight increase of 0.67 percent from 2012, levels remain lower than the historical peak in 2007. The minister believes that this underlines the positive effect government policies and education are having on decoupling greenhouse gas emissions from economic growth.
Wei said Taiwan has been doing its utmost to take practical steps that reflect the initiatives and efforts of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). He believes Taiwan’s participation in the convention would enable the nation to receive much needed support and assistance from the international community. It would also allow Taiwan to share its experiences in the area of environmental protection with the international community.