Taiwan’s Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) called on the UN Climate Parliament meeting in Paris to be more inclusive. Minister Wei Kuo-yen was invited to speak at the recent Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Taiwan has been excluded from the UNFCCC.
Wei said it is ironic that Taiwan is not on the map of the UN convention’s Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC). Taiwan was also not originally on the map for carbon emission reductions. But as Taiwan developed industrially in the 1970s, it eventually became cited by the International Energy Agency as the 18th highest carbon emitter in the world. Wei said global society is selective about when it wants to recognize Taiwan.
As for carbon emissions, Wei said Taiwan has been improving its energy efficiency. Its carbon emissions have not increased even though its gross domestic product (GDP) has. The changes Taiwan has made can be a reference for other developing nations.