Sunday, January 27, 2008

Taiwan down 16 places on the EPI

The Taipower power plant at Wuchi, Taichung. Recently named in Nature Magazine as the world's dirtiest power plant.


Taiwan has dropped sixteen places to No. 40 according to this year's edition of the Environmental Performance Index (EPI). The EPI rates international environmental performance and is released annually by environmental specialists at Yale University and Columbia University. In last year's EPI Taiwan ranked No. 24. With Taiwan's emissions records this isn't surprising and only serves to highlight Taiwan's abysmal environmental record and just how much Taiwan's Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) seems to be bending over backwards to accommodate developers. In recent months we have seen highly controversial projects like the Hushan Dam Project just steamrolled through the EIA process with many questioning the legality of these actions. Clearly, Taiwan risks further isolation if they don't start cleaning up their act and doing something about their environmental record.

See Taiwan drops 16 spots in environmental protection in today's Taipei Times.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Taiwan is already marginalized within international community. Therefore, I hardly think they will become further isolated by their few diplomatic allies who gain from their dollar diplomacy. The grassroots environmental movement has failed to change anything. Taiwan is all about economic development at whatever the cost.

##HIDEME##