TURNING THE TIDE:Utilizing sources of renewable energy and developing carbon capture technology are key to dealing with climate change, Lee Yuan-tseh said
Taipei Times
Date: Apr 18, 2016
By: Chen Wei-han / Staff reporter
Former Academia Sinica president Lee Yuan-tseh (李遠哲) yesterday said that
Former Academia Sinica president Lee Yuan-tseh speaks at a conference in Taipei yesterday. Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
he is against lowering electricity prices and subsidizing fossil fuels, calling on the incoming government to establish a reasonable energy pricing mechanism that reflects the health and environmental consequences of using fossil fuels.
“The government spends NT$20 billion [US$618.27 million] on fossil-fuel subsidies every year, but if the effects of global warming and air pollution are taken into consideration, the cost of subsidizing fossil fuels would be NT$1 trillion every year, or NT$43,000 per person,” Lee said at a conference in Taipei about sustainable environments.
While the government said it is “taking care of” Taiwanese by lowering gasoline and power prices, the industry and energy sectors, which together use 45 percent of the nation’s energy and contribute to more than 60 percent of Taiwan’s carbon emissions, are the largest beneficiaries of the fossil-fuel subsidies funded by taxpayers, Lee said, adding that it is a misuse of public money. [FULL STORY]
