President Ma Ying-jeou on the morning of May 26 convened a Conference on Climate Change Response Measures at the Presidential Office, where he urged the people of Taiwan not to let their guard down in the face of global climate change. He said that necessary precautions must be adopted and that this starts with changing one's own behavior. In addition to conserving energy and reducing carbon emissions, he said that the government will take advantage of the nation's strengths in high technology and coordinate efforts to develop green energy technology. This will make an important contribution to preserving the global environment, he said.
The president said the main objectives of the conference were to review the various strategies adopted by the government over the past two years in response to climate change, and to discuss measures that should be adopted in the coming two years as challenges continue to mount. President Ma pointed out that the issue of climate change can be approached on two levels – domestically and internationally. From a domestic perspective, climate change has life-and-death consequences, he said. It has already had a major impact on Taiwan that cannot be ignored. Typhoon Morakot last year was one example of this. The most recent example was that, despite the well-conceived measures that the government has instituted, downpours two days ago still caused damage even though they brought only a bit over 300 millimeters of precipitation.
President Ma remarked that the government must pay close attention to how industry can turn the threat of climate change into opportunity, and transform liabilities into assets. Efforts to respond to climate change, for example, can lead to the development of new industries. In other words, he said, conserving energy and cutting carbon emissions may seem only to be for the purpose of dealing with a negative situation, yet it can go beyond damage control and actually lead to positive results, such as the development of solar energy that is enormously beneficial to industry. The president specially mentioned that on May 25 he attended an exhibition displaying the achievements associated with ROC assistance to Africa as well as a reception to mark Africa Day 2010, which were held by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He personally introduced solar-powered lamps that recently were developed by the Central Training Center in Taichung to help Burkina Faso, a diplomatic ally in West Africa. The president explained that only 5% of persons living in urban areas in that nation have access to light at night. Therefore, many students go outside and study under streetlights in the evening. The solar-powered lamps developed by the ROC have a one-watt LED light, cost about US$10 each, and can operate continuously for four and a half hours at night after being charged for 30-40 minutes. This marks a major step forward in generating the light needed by schoolchildren in that nation to study at night, he said, adding that the Burkina Faso government has already ordered a large number of the lamps.
President Ma said that this way of thinking can bring very concrete results. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he said, already has plans to combine the resources of the government and private sectors to assist friendly nations in this regard. Consequently, the president said, responding to climate change is about more than mitigating disasters or making adjustments. Rather, we must take a positive attitude, look for opportunities, and put our heads together to come up with ideas. President Ma stressed that in the process of pursuing breakthroughs, we must adopt multifaceted and comprehensive policies. Everyone must work together to implement this work, he said.
Among those attending the meeting were National Security Council Secretary-General Hu Wei-jen, Premier Wu Den-yih, Vice Premier Sean C. Chen, Executive Yuan Secretary-General Lin Join-Sane, and Presidential Deputy Secretary-General Kao Lang.