Taipei, Sept. 25 (CNA) Taiwan is determined to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the interest of the nation's sustainable development and its responsibility as a member of the international community, an official of Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) said Monday.
Taiwan is not a member of the United Nations and cannot sign the Kyoto Protocol, but Taiwan is determined, prepared and willing to do whatever it takes to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, said Bureau of energy director Yeh Huei-chin at an international conference on the electric power industry's global warming strategies.
Kyoto Protocol is an international treaty on climate change that assigns mandatory targets for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions to signatory nations.
"Carbon dioxide reduction is a 'no-regret' policy to Taiwan," she said.
Due to the shortage of domestic resources, more than 98 percent of Taiwan's energy is imported, with 83 percent of Taiwan's energy coming from oil and coal, she said. Thus Taiwan has been in a tough situation which, under the nuclear-free homeland perspective, non-carbon energy is limited to renewable resources.
The first of Taiwan's carbon dioxide mitigation strategies is expanding the usage of natural gas. And it will promote renewable energy, improve energy efficiency and establish a rational energy price mechanism.
In addition to these four strategies, it's also important to legislate a greenhouse gas reduction law and a renewable energy development bill in the legislature, she stressed.
The MOEA has completed the planning program of carbon dioxide reduction technology in 2005. Starting in 2007, the annual budget will be about NT$280 million, she said.