The second round of results from aircraft and ship-based monitoring of greenhouse gas levels above the Pacific Ocean under a Taiwan-initiated research project was announced Sept. 6 by National Central University in northern Taiwan’s Taoyuan City, indicating a sustained rise in carbon dioxide levels.
Initiated in 2008, the Pacific Greenhouse Gases Measurement initiative works with Taiwan’s China Airlines, CPC Corp. and Evergreen Marine Corp. to gather climate change data from in-service aircraft and ships.
According to the latest PGGM results, atmospheric CO2 concentrations over the middle of the Pacific Ocean have exceeded 400 parts per million, far surpassing the global preindustrial value of 280 ppm. The data indicate the levels are rising by more than 1.5 ppm per year.
The 20-year PGGM project is being implemented by NCU in cooperation with the Cabinet-level Environmental Protection Administration, Ministry of Education and Ministry of Science and Technology, as well as research institutes in Europe and the U.S. It aims to establish the world’s largest platform for atmospheric and ocean observations of greenhouse gas emissions.
Since 2009, monitoring equipment has been installed on nine Evergreen Marine container ships and CPC international oil tankers, allowing researchers to study changes in atmospheric CO2 concentrations across the Pacific and around major industrial zones.
Two China Airlines aircraft participate in the initiative, the first joining in 2012 and the second in July this year. The planes enable monitoring of atmospheric CO2 concentrations throughout East Asia, Southeast Asia, as well as the North and South Pacific.
Taiwan is an active participant in global climate change research. The EPA and Ministry of Foreign Affairs staged an international forum Sept. 5 to allow Taiwan’s nongovernmental organizations and their counterparts from abroad to exchange views on NGO participation in the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change.
The nation is also among just a few countries that have written into law their carbon emissions reduction goals. The 2015 Greenhouse Gas Reduction and Management Act sets the 2050 emissions target at 50 percent of the 2005 level. Furthermore, under its Intended Nationally Determined Contribution, Taiwan plans to reduce emissions to 214 million tons by 2030, or 20 percent below the 2005 level. (WF-E)
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