“I am welcoming Taiwan’s emissions reduction announcements as a significant first step in a transformation process towards sustainability”, Schellnhuber said. “The task ahead will be to draw up and implement a coherent plan to scale up energy efficiency and renewable energy sources as the basis for an economy of the 21st century.” There’s a lot of potential for exporting technologies from Taiwan worldwide, be it LEDs or in the electromobility sector, he stressed. “Cooperating with Mainland China on a broad range of technologies would not only make good business sense but also create win-win solutions to improve the environment and people’s living conditions. In the future, Taiwan may indeed be perceived as the first Asian Sustainability Tiger.”
With a population of 24 million, Taiwan is one of the 20 most important economies of the world (PPP). Since it is not recognized as a UN member, it does not participate in the UNFCCC process aiming at a global agreement on climate change mitigation. “Not even having an observer status to the framework convention on climate change is an unsatisfactory situation”, Schellnhuber remarks. “In order to save the climate, ambitious contributions by all will be needed.”
