Maroc - TAIWANTODAY.TW - Top News - 01/Sep 00:00

MOI stages symposium on environmentally conscious architecture

A forum on natural carbon sinks and low-carbon architecture was held by the Ministry of the Interior at National Chung Hsing University Sept. 2 in the central city of Taichung as part of ongoing government efforts to achieve net-zero emissions.   In her opening remarks, MOI Minister Liu Shyh-fang said challenges to achieving Taiwan’s policy goal of net-zero emissions by 2050 remain. The one-day event aimed to facilitate communication between the government, general public and business sector in order to address climate change mitigation issues, she added.   According to Liu, national parks, wetlands and coastal areas, which all fall within the scope of the MOI, play a key role in capturing carbon dioxide. These areas are home to blue carbon ecosystems like tidal marshes, mangroves and seagrass meadows that are essential for carbon sequestration.   Statistics show that the country’s national parks are responsible for removing over 2 million tons of carbon emission equivalents (CO2e), the minister said, adding that blue carbon ecosystems account for 95,000 tons of CO2e. Based on satellite imagery, the MOI estimates a carbon sink loss of 3,821 tons of CO2e in Taroko National Park as a result of April’s magnitude 7.4 earthquake in eastern Taiwan, she said, vowing that the MOI will step up efforts at other national parks and wetlands to make up the loss.   Liu said low-carbon architecture is being promoted throughout the country and the MOI is making sure that social housing projects are certified as both green and smart buildings. She expects a total of 250,000 such housing units to reduce 112,300 tons of CO2e per year by 2032, with all other new public buildings set to achieve level 1 energy-efficiency standards by 2026. (SFC-E)   Write to Taiwan Today at ttonline@mofa.gov.tw