What positions do Taiwan’s presidential candidates hold on issues related to climate change? As far as Greenpeace is concerned, not the right ones. The group says that neither DPP incumbent Tsai Ing-wen nor her KMT challenger Han Kuo-yu have adequate policies or plans.
“Fail”. That’s the word Greenpeace used to sum up the climate policies of Taiwan’s presidential hopefuls in a slideshow presentation Thursday.
To be fair, the group didn’t pass judgment on all the candidates. People First Party Chairman James Soong only announced his candidacy a few weeks ago, leaving Greenpeace without the time to fully analyze his platform.
But in the slideshow, Greenpeace gives DPP incumbent Tsai Ing-wen a C- on the climate. KMT rival Han Kuo-yu, meanwhile, gets a D-. Both Tsai and Han say they believe in the importance of carbon reduction. So how did Greenpeace arrive at these scores?
It sent out questionnaires to the campaigns and also looked at public statements made by the candidates before the end of October. Greenpeace focused on plans for carbon reduction, plans to ensure social justice when dealing with climate change issues, and plans to move Taiwan to green energy.
Greenpeace Taiwan’s energy director, Tang An, says that President Tsai’s short term plan is more complete and more feasible. Tang called on Han to release detailed plans for how he will achieve his vision of an energy transformation by 2035.
Still, as far as Greenpeace is concerned, neither candidate is off the hook when it comes to climate change. It wants both Tsai and Han to come forward with more concrete energy and climate policies.
News Source：RTI
Editor：John Van Trieste
