Indian efforts to check global warming lauded

 
Taiwan special representative in India Wenchyi Ong here on Wednesday said India aimed to reduce emissions by 2020 and “this is an extremely commendable and positive action”.

He said in a press release that changes in India’s annual monsoon have resulted in severe droughts and intense flooding in parts of the country and recalled words of ICRISAT (International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics) director general Willian Dar that the implications of climate change would be borne by the poorest of the poor.

Prediction

“Scientists predict that by the end of the century the country will experience a 3 to 5 degrees C temperature increase and a 20 per cent rise in all summer monsoon rainfall,” he said.

He regretted that although Taiwan has felt the powerful effect of climate change and has taken many measures to mitigate global warming, it was not an invitee to the upcoming Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in December.

He quoted a research by Colombia University and the World Bank which said “Taiwan may be a place on earth most vulnerable to natural hazards, with 73 per cent of its land and population exposed to three or more hazards”.

He said Taiwan Premier Wu Den-yih had made a plea for support from the international community for his country’s new bid to participate in the United Nations Framework Convention for Climate Change.

“Taiwan is the 17th largest economy in the world and has an important role to play in the combined efforts to fight against climate change. As a critical stakeholder, Taiwan could share its resources of weather data and facilitate better training of personnel engaged in monitoring changes in weather conditions.

Taiwan welcomes the opportunity to work with all the 192 convention members to better protect and preserve Mother Nature because we have only one world,” Wenchyi added.