On the occasion of Earth Day, President Tsai Ing-wen said Taiwan was committed to doing its part for the planet, by making progress toward climate change goals. Speaking at an Earth Day event Thursday morning, Tsai said her government was putting together a plan to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050. She said Taiwan will continue to work with other countries to slow the effects of global warming. Later in the afternoon, Tsai met with environmentalist groups, as she has on Earth Day the past five years.

President Tsai greets the U.S. de facto ambassador with an elbow tap at the 2021 Social Design Action Forum, held on Earth Day. Tsai said that in the face of climate change, Taiwan will not sit idle as the world seeks solutions.

Tsai Ing-wen
President
Under the coordination of our Executive Yuan, our government has already begun evaluating what Taiwan needs to do to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050. Putting a stop to global warming is one of the key challenges of our generation. As I said earlier, Taiwan cannot sit on the sidelines of this challenge. We must seek out opportunities to cooperate with other countries and create mutually beneficial outcomes.

Brent Christensen
AIT director
The AIT is also working hard to find solutions, and we are continuing to cooperate with Taiwan.

Climate change has emerged as one of the greatest challenges of our day. After the sustainability forum, Tsai continued her Earth Day tradition of meeting with environmentalist groups. Before their encounter, the activists held a press conference, where this man in pink was the center of attention.

Pan Chong-cheng
Rescue Datan''s Algal Reefs Alliance
First they should stop construction at the Datan LNG terminal project. Then they should consider relocating it, moving it away from the Datan coast and waters. That is the plan to think about.

Amid controversy over the Datan project, the president came to her meeting prepared. In her opening remarks, she spelled out the government’s position.

Tsai Ing-wen
President
It’s recently come to my attention that quite a few civic organizations have held various meetings on reef protection. Government units have been proactively participating in these meetings. We have already accelerated our evaluation process for alternative solutions. I hope you all can stay open to all the various possibilities.

Pan Chong-cheng
Rescue Datan''s Algal Reefs Alliance
We want it moved outside the 5-kilometer range. If it is outside this range, then of course we would consider it and happily so. If it is not outside that range, then, to be frank, any talk of moving it rings empty for us.

Tsai said that on the issue of Taiwan’s energy transition, the government and the private sector have overcome many challenges together in the past. She assured environmentalists that this case would be no exception.