JEAIL > Volume 4(1); 2011 > Issue Focus
Research Paper
Published online: May 30, 2011
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.14330/jeail.2011.4.1.03

The International Legal Concerns on Climate Change Regime: Taiwan's Perspective

Yiyuan Su
National Chung Hsing University, Taiwan
250 Kuo-Kuang Rd., Taichung 402, Taiwan R.O.C..
Corresponding Author: su.yiyuan@gmail.com

ⓒ Copyright YIJUN Institute of International Law
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

Climate change is an emerging environmental issue. To prevent possible trade sanctions from the industrialized trading partners, Taiwan proposed several policies to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. This includes their preparation of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Act is under legislature review and the Statute for Renewable Energy Management. Because Taiwan is not a member of the United Nations, it is excluded from participation in the United Nation Convention on Climate Change and lacks access to the flexible mechanisms defined under the Kyoto Protocol. The Taiwan Environment Protection Administration plans to encourage the local emitters to acquire foreign reduction credits to offset domestic emissions. This article approaches Taiwan's mitigation policies and measures from an international legal perspective. It also introduces adaptation policies and recommends that the government establish a special national adaptation team to prepare data and criteria for risk prioritization. Finally, this paper recommends that the Parties of the UNFCCC adopt the 'universal apply' principle for climate change and allow any governmental agency whose governing matters are covered by the convention, to participate and share emission-reduction responsibilities.

Keywords : Climate Change, Taiwan, EPA, Mitigation, Adaptation, UNFCCC, Flexible Mechanisms

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