Statement by Minister Ying-Yuan Lee Environmental Protection Administration, Executive Yuan, Taiwan
Global warming and the El Niño phenomenon have contributed to record-breaking temperatures and extreme weather events around the world. In July this year, the global average temperatures taken over land and ocean surfaces were the highest for any month in 137 years of record-keeping. In June, the temperature in Taipei reached 38.7 degrees Celsius, the highest in a century. Another recent anomaly is a marked decline in the frequency of steady rainfall. Instead, we were hit with a series of torrential downpours that caused many flash floods, significantly damaging our infrastructure, ecosystem, as well as crops. More and more evidence is showing that climate change is already happening. If we don’t take action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions now, we will end up paying much more later on.
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