President Ma Ying-jeou met on the morning of April 14 with a delegation led by Gina McCarthy, administrator of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The president explained the substantive results of the government's environmental protection work and also jointly witnessed with Administrator McCarthy the formal establishment of the International Environmental Partnership initiative, launched by the Executive Yuan's Environmental Protection Administration.
In remarks, President Ma first stated that Administrator McCarthy has been involved in environmental protection for 30 years, and was appointed by US President Barack Obama in July of last year to head the US EPA. President Ma said that he deeply admires the contributions made by Administrator McCarthy in the complex area of environmental protection.
The president stated that this also marks the first visit by an American Cabinet-level official to Taiwan in nearly 14 years since 2000 during the presidency of Bill Clinton. This, President Ma said, makes this trip extremely meaningful. He added that in the six years that he has been in office, he has strived to restore mutual trust at the highest levels of government between the ROC and the United States, furthermore stating that this visit is an example of the success of these many years of efforts.
Cooperation between Taiwan and the United States in environmental protection, President Ma remarked, dates back 20 years. He thanked the United States for its longstanding assistance, which has contributed to many substantive achievements. For instance, he noted, the level of pollution in the most severely polluted portions of Taiwan's 50 primary and secondary rivers and streams has been reduced by 70% from 10 years ago, and the number of days of poor air quality in Taiwan has declined by 73% compared with before he took office. President Ma explained that the amount of garbage generated per person per day and the volume of recycling is about 0.38 kilograms, down 66% from a peak of 1.1 kilograms.
The president then discussed Taiwan's achievements in conserving energy and reducing carbon emissions. He explained to the visitors that six years ago Taiwan generated 1% of the world's carbon emissions even though its 23 million people accounted for only about 0.3% of the global population. After many years of efforts, however, Taiwan's population, which has increased slightly, now produces 264 million tons of CO2 emissions, versus 276 million tons before, which is equivalent to 0.84% of the world's total, versus a previous 1%, he said. The president stated that average per capita emissions have fallen to 11.3 tons from 12.8 tons when he took office six years ago. Taiwan's ranking in this respect has thus fallen to 21st in the world from 18th, which, he said, shows the success of Taiwan's effort to conserve energy and reduce carbon emissions.
President Ma emphasized that Taiwan's difficult diplomatic situation has prevented it from attending international conferences associated with the Kyoto Protocol and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, or from becoming a signatory to these initiatives. Nonetheless, he said, Taiwan has worked hard to comply with international standards and is determined to realize the objective of conserving energy and cutting carbon output. Taiwan, he stated, hopes to reduce its CO2 emissions to 2005 levels by the year 2020 and further reduce those levels in 2025 to the levels last seen in 2000.
After completing his remarks, President Ma and Administrator McCarthy jointly witnessed the formal establishment of the International Environment Partnership program by Environmental Protection Administration Minister Wei Kuo-Yen (魏國彥). This initiative is expected to provide a means for countries throughout the world to share Taiwan's experiences and technologies in the area of environmental protection, and for environmental protection officials from countries worldwide to engage in technical exchanges. At the same time, Taiwan will continue to cooperate in this area with the United States. The two sides will run a variety of environmental protection programs and take bilateral collaboration in this field to new heights.
In remarks, Administrator McCarthy first congratulated Taiwan on the program, stating that it is an extremely valuable way for Taiwan and environmental protection leaders from around the world to share their experiences in environmental protection as well as their expertise in this field. In addition, Administrator McCarthy stated, the US EPA and Taiwan's Environmental Protection Administration have engaged in close cooperation over the past 20 years. She said she is very proud that the United States is becoming a founding partner of the program.
Responding to Administrator McCarthy's comments, President Ma stated that he was very happy to see the International Environment Partnership launched at a time that coincides with the 35th anniversary of the Taiwan Relations Act and the completion of two decades of environmental cooperation between the ROC and the US.
The president said this program marks an important milestone in cooperation between Taiwan and the United States, and shows that the ROC desires to make more contributions to and expand its participation in the international community. This, he remarked, will enable partners in environmental protection in the region and around the world to share in Taiwan's successful experiences.
President Ma reiterated his gratitude to the United States for the support it has provided Taiwan over the years in the area of environmental protection. He also expressed hope that this visit to Taiwan by the delegation will take bilateral environmental protection to a new level, and will also help to lay an even stronger foundation for further progress, thereby expanding the influence of the two sides in the international community.
In addition to EPA Administrator McCarthy, others in the delegation included Acting Assistant Administrator for EPA's Office of International and Tribal Affairs (OITA) Jane Nishida, Senior Advisor for Asia-Pacific Program at EPA's OITA Mark S. Kasman, Deputy Chief of Staff Matthew Fritz, Program Manager at EPA's OITA Justin Harris, and Deputy Associate Administrator of the EPA's Office of External Affairs Alisha Johnson.