Penghu County’s Chingluo Wetland is pictured in an undated photograph.
Photo courtesy of the Penghu County Government
2022/11/13 03:00
OCEAN OPPORTUNITY: Mangroves, seagrass beds and macroalgae could capture carbon and reduce the nation’s net emissions, the Science Media Center said
By William Hetherington / Staff writer, with CNA
Taiwan’s annual carbon emissions have remained at about 70 million tonnes annually since 2005, and there has been no significant reduction in emissions since, the Science Media Center Taiwan said.
In a statement on Friday, the center cited National Sun Yat-sen University professor Chen Chen-tung （陳鎮東） as saying that “the government’s plans call for emissions to be roughly halved to about 36.6 million tonnes annually by 2050, but it has no short or medium-term plans to achieve that, and no specific industry measures in place.”
This goal would be hard to achieve given the current circumstances, Chen added.
Since Taiwan is short of available land for emission-reduction measures, it should make use of the ocean to grow mangroves, seagrass beds and macroalgae to make use of blue carbon, the center cited Chen as saying.
The center added that this year’s carbon budget report published on Friday by the Global Carbon Project shows that global carbon emissions have not decreased.
“Research shows no sign of a reduction in global carbon dioxide emissions, and if current emissions continue, there is a 50 percent chance that the average global temperature rise will exceed 1.5°C within nine years,” the center said, citing the report, and adding that based on current estimates, global carbon emissions are expected to reach 40.6 billion tonnes by the end of this year.
Emissions fell in 2020 due to the effects of COVID-19, but rebounded significantly last year, rising a further 1 percent this year, Global Carbon Project executive director Josep Canadell said in the report, adding that levels could continue to rise before the year ends.
The report shows that China and the EU expect emission reductions this year, which could put them on the moral high ground on climate change, the center said.
Data from the report also showed that 2.9 billion tonnes of carbon would be absorbed by the ocean this year, and 3.4 billion tonnes by land areas, adding that oceans are likely to continue absorbing more, as it is more cost-effective.
The main driver of the global increase in emissions is the burning of fossil fuels, which accounts for 36.6 billion tonnes of this year’s global emissions, or 89 percent of total emissions worldwide, Canadell said.
Emissions from natural gas and cement have fallen, but those from coal and oil have risen, he said, adding that this year was the first year that China’s natural gas and cement emissions have fallen.
Meanwhile, Australian National University professor and climate researcher Frank Jotzo said Australia’s emissions have been cut by 22 percent since 2005, and New Zealand Climate Change Commissioner Andy Reisinger said his country’s annual net carbon dioxide emissions per capita were about 2 tonnes — less than half the global average of 5.3 tonnes.
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
