Climate Change and the Green Revolution

Climate Change and the Green Revolution
China Times editorial (Taipei, Taiwan, ROC)
A Translation
February 25, 2010

The documentary film "± 2 ℃" documents climate change on Taiwan. It was filmed last August in the wake of Typhoon Morakot. Yesterday, five months later, it premiered in Japan. Government and business leaders attended in droves. The major media provided full coverage. The presidents of the five Yuan attended. Heads of major industrial firms turned out. This film was a sensation, and raised hopes for those concerned about environmental issues.

The documentary "± 2 ℃" was Taiwan's version of "An Inconvenient Truth." The documentary explores global warming and climate change from Taiwan's perspective. People on Taiwan will be among the first climate refugees. We hope the film will teach the public and the government the importance of environmental protection.

Global warming is an old problem. The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Panel (IPCC) believes that a two Celsius degree rise in global temperature poses a threat to mankind's survival. If the temperature drops two Celsius degrees, our children and grandchildren may survive. The documentary touched off a new wave of concern for global warming on Taiwan. But besides being emotionally moved, how can the public and the government confront the problem and take effective action?

According to newspaper reports, when President Ma Ying-jeou presided over his Chinese New Years gathering in the presidential palace, he expressed concern over the climate change addressed in the film "± 2 ℃." President Ma urged staffers to implement energy-saving and carbon reduction measures. He urged them to save energy, water, paper, and oil, and work together to save the planet. Non-governmental environmental groups however have been critical. The government has asked the public to save energy and reduce carbon. But the Taiwan Power Company is still rushing to build power plants everywhere. The government continues to give priority to industries such as the Kuo Kuang Petrochemical Company and major steel producers. The environment is under assault from massive construction projects and deforestation. Based on public and private sector reactions, we remain in the "concerned" stage. We have a long way to go before we actually implement concrete energy conservation and carbon reduction measures in our daily lives.

The Taiwan region has an island climate. It has the second highest population density in the world. Many are forced to live in places unfit for human habitation. Add to this rapid soil erosion and frequent typhoons. Taiwan will not escape a string of predictable disasters caused by global warming.

Climatologists have warned that global warming is a growing problem. Between 2020 and 2037, the polar icecaps will probably disappear. The sea level will rise six meters. Under the circumstances, people on Taiwan, in Vietnam, Bangladesh, the South Pacific, and the Caribbean will become the world's first climate refugees. Coastal plains on Taiwan lower than 100 meters above sea level will become uninhabitable. Chiayi Tungshih, Pingtung Linbian, Tungkang, and Yunlin Mailiao will be inundated. Next to succumb may be the Taipei Basin, Kaohsiung, and Lanyang Plain. If sea levels continue to rise, the next group to be impacted will be the river delta regions mentioned in the 2009 United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) report. The most endangered regions on Taiwan are the Lanyang plain, the Taipei Basin (Taipei) and Kaohsiung City.

Last year, during Typhoon Morakot, Mount Ali accumulated nearly 3000 millimeters of rainfall. Scholars estimate that if half of Typhoon Morakot's rainfall had fallen on the Shihmen Reservoir, the dam might have burst. Two or three hundred million tons of water would have inundated Sanxia in Taipei County, Tucheng, Banqiao, and Xinzhuang. Taipei City and Taipei County would have become a veritable "Waterworld." By that time, the Taipei 101 Building would have become a isolated island in the midst of raging waters.

Global warming is worsening. Heavy rainstorms are more frequent. Due to its topography, the prospects for Taiwan are grimmer than for Mainland China, Japan and other regions of Asia. In the future, typhoons will become more frequent and more powerful. Rainfall will become more extreme. Severe droughts are followed by heavy rains. Heat waves are followed by frigid winters. Soil erosion on Taiwan is increasingly serious. Morakot will not remain an isolated case.

Faced with such catastrophes, the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Group has asked all governments, including the government of the Republic of China, to invest in a massive green revolution. At this critical moment, we propose that everyone write a letter to the President, urging him, as the leader of the nation, to save our nation, save our children, and fulfill our responsibilities to the global village. He must elevate climate security to the level of national security. The legislature is considering a greenhouse gas reduction act, to be known as the Climate Security Act. The bill will implement global warming measures. The national budget should also be re-allocated. In particular, the budget for national defense should be allocated to green energy, and vice-versa, increasing our investment in green energy. A comprehensive review of energy-consuming industries must be conducted. Only such measures will truly address the issue of climate change

中時電子報 新聞
中國時報 　2010.02.25
社論－面對±2℃ 快進行大規模綠色革命
本報訊

記錄台灣氣候變遷的紀錄片《±2℃》，自去年八月莫拉克風災後籌拍，歷經五個月，日昨舉行首映會，現場政商雲集，各大媒體輪流播放，五院院長、各大企業老闆都同時出席觀看首映。這樣的影片、這樣的轟動，帶給許多關心環境議題的人們無限的期待。

《±2℃》，就像是台灣版《不願面對的真相》，整部紀錄片以台灣的角度探討全球暖化氣候變遷，台灣將會是第一批氣候難民，期待這樣的訴求能喚醒台灣人民與政府對環保的重視。

全球暖化的議題是一個老問題：聯合國跨政府氣候小組（IPCC）認為，全球溫度若上升攝氏兩度，人類將面臨存亡的威脅；若溫度下降兩度，子孫便能存活。紀錄片首映，燃起了台灣新一波對暖化問題的重視。但在大受感動之餘，從民間到政府，台灣應該如何積極面對並採取有效策略才是重點。

據報載，馬英九總統在主持總統府新春團拜時，也關心《±2℃》台灣氣候變遷紀錄片，馬總統期勉總統府員工落實節能減碳，做到省電、省水、省紙、省油，共同愛地球。民間環保團體則批評，政府一方面要求老百姓節能減碳，但台電依然搶著到處蓋火力發電廠，國光石化、大煉鋼廠等高排碳產業依舊是政府的優先推動政策，生活週遭處處大興土木、破壞山林。從政府與民間的反應來看，顯然大家還只是停留在關心階段，在現實生活與政策中實踐節能減碳，仍有一段漫漫遙遠的路要走。

台灣是海島氣候，人口密度世界第二，其中有相當多的人口被迫居住在不適宜人居的地方，加上土地侵蝕率高、颱風多，隨著全球暖化日益加劇所帶來一連串可預知的災難中，台灣將無可倖免。

研究氣候變遷學者警告，隨著全球暖化問題日益嚴重，二○二○年到二○三七年，北極浮冰恐消失，海平面會上升六公尺。在此情況下，台灣和越南、孟加拉、南太平洋、加勒比海一樣，都將成為全球第一批氣候難民，台灣一百公尺以下平原將無法居住。首當其衝的是嘉義東石、屏東林邊、東港及雲林麥寮；接著淪陷的，可能是台北盆地、高雄市及蘭陽平原。海平面如果再上升，第二批衝擊的是聯合國二○○九年列入最危險區的各國家三角洲，台灣同步的危險區域名稱依序則是蘭陽平原、台北盆地（台北縣市）與高雄市。

去年莫拉克颱風，阿里山累積近三千毫米雨量，學者估計，如果一半降雨下在石門水庫可能會潰壩，兩、三億噸的水量，將一路淹過台北縣三峽、土城、板橋、新莊…，台北縣市都將成為水鄉澤國，屆時台北一○一大樓，成了洪流中的一座孤島。

當全球暖化愈來愈嚴重，暴雨暴風極端現象愈明顯的時候，台灣因為地形特殊，災難將比中國、日本等其他亞洲國家嚴峻。未來，颱風會變得越來越強，雨量會越來越極端，大旱後就是暴雨，熱浪後緊接著寒冬，台灣民眾居住的土地侵蝕率會越來越嚴重，莫拉克不會是唯一的。

面對這樣的大災難，聯合國跨政府氣候小組呼籲每一個國家，包括台灣，投入足夠的資金，進行大規模的綠色革命。在這關鍵時刻，我們支持：每一個人寫一封信給總統，從國家高度，拯救台灣、拯救孩子、善盡地球村一分子責任，將台灣的氣候安全，提昇到國家安全的層次；目前在國會將審議中的溫室氣體減量法正名為氣候安全法，將暖化議題，落實在政策法案中；國家預算也應重新分配，尤其是國防預算與綠能預算全部對調，加強對綠色能源的投資；同時全面體檢高耗能產業政策。這樣的作為，才是真正面對氣候變遷的真相與應有的作為。