President Tsai Ing-wen said Oct. 22 that Taiwan is fully committed to contributing to regional and global sustainable development through forward-looking policymaking and project implementation.
Taiwan must, as a responsible global stakeholder, promote the sustainable development of the country and the rest of the world, the president said, adding that related government efforts have already begun to pay dividends.
Tsai made the remarks during her opening address at an international symposium on sustainability science organized by Taipei City-based Academia Sinica in the northern Taiwan metropolis.
According to the president, energy reform is a top policy priority. She said the government is making headway in its plan to have renewables account for 20 percent of the country’s energy portfolio in eight years.
Toward this goal, the local energy sector has received tremendous investment and technology support from home and abroad, leading to the creation of thousands of jobs, Tsai said, citing as an example the Shalun Green Energy Science City project in southern Taiwan’s Tainan City. She also pointed to a report by the American Chamber of Commerce in Taipei on Taiwan’s suitability for wind power development.
Another potential-laden initiative is the Forward-looking Infrastructure Development Program, which aims to bolster development in eight major areas including public transportation, green energy and aquatic environments.
Other than boosting the country’s gross domestic product by NT$500 billion (US$16.53 billion), the initiative will make local cities and towns cleaner, smarter and more environmental friendly, she added.
On the global front, Taiwan is working with the U.S. under the International Environmental Partnership to share expertise with partners in the Asia-Pacific and around the world on capacity-building and the provision of resources, talent and technologies. Also, Environmental Protection Administration Minister Lee Ying-yuan last month in New York unveiled the nation’s Voluntary National Review on the implementation of the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals.
The one-day symposium in Taipei attracted more than 500 experts and scholars from 10 countries and territories, focusing on investigating new concepts and technologies to address major global challenges such as air pollution, energy transformation and health.
By serving as a platform for intellectual exchanges, the event also sought to facilitate cross-border interdisciplinary cooperation in sustainability science while broadening the experience and horizons of the country’s academic communities, according to Academia Sinica. (SFC-E)
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