Environmentalists on Wednesday called on the government to integrate marine survey data to establish a government database to reduce the environmental impact of offshore development projects.
The government in 2019 encouraged people to explore the sea and promulgated the Oceans Basic Act (海洋基本法), aiming to make the nation “a high-quality marine country that is ecological, safe and prosperous.”
However, the nation’s surrounding marine environment is endangered by the development of many tourism, fisheries and offshore wind farm projects, the Chinese-language online media Environmental Information Center quoted Wild at Heart Legal Defense Association secretary-general Kuo Hung-yi (郭鴻儀) as saying on Wednesday.
The Ministry of
Environmental groups split over Cabinet plan to relocate LNG project
05/04/2021 10:20 PM
Environmental groups protest outside the Executive Yuan in Taipei on Monday. CNA photo May 3, 2021
Taipei, May 4 (CNA) A government proposal to relocate a controversial liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal, moving it further away from the algae reefs on Taiwan s north coast, drew mixed responses from environmental groups Tuesday.
Responding to the Cabinet s relocation plan that was released Monday, some environmental groups said it was the best compromise, while others panned it as ineffective.
Rescue Datan s Algal Reefs Alliance, which initiated a national referendum on the project, said the government had failed to explore all possible alternatives to the current LNG terminal, which is being built off the coast of Datan Borough in Taoyuan.
Cabinet proposes pushing planned LNG terminal further out to sea
05/03/2021 11:33 PM
The Datan LNG terminal project under construction (image taken from the CPC Corp., Taiwan website)
Taipei, May 3 (CNA) The Cabinet on Monday proposed to move a controversial liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal from its planned location further away from the coast in northern Taiwan to avoid damaging a coastal algal reef environmentalists want protected.
The proposal was presented by the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) at a meeting earlier Monday attended by Cabinet officials and lawmakers of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) at the invitation of Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌).
Lawyers sign a petition to facilitate climate lawsuits
By Lo Chi and Jonathan Chin / Staff reporter, with staff writer
More than 50 lawyers have signed a petition to allow people to instigate climate-related lawsuits as the government mulls amending the Greenhouse Gas Reduction and Management Act (溫室氣體減量及管理法).
Globally, climate advocates are increasingly using lawsuits in national and international courts as a strategy to prompt action, Environmental Rights Foundation president Lin San-chia (林三加) said yesterday.
This is because demanding legal remedies to climate change might bring about real change, Lin said.
However, Taiwan lacks a theoretical framework and legal mechanisms to tackle such lawsuits, he said.