OPINION:
The 2025 United Nations Climate Change Conference, also known as COP30, will be held in Belem, Brazil, next month. Taiwan has yet again been excluded.
The president of COP30 has said it is “urgent we address, in a comprehensive and synergistic manner, the interlinked global crises of climate change and biodiversity loss in the broader context of achieving the sustainable development goals.” If the conference continues to exclude Taiwan from membership, what message does it send to the rest of the world? Climate change concerns all humans, and Taiwan should not be excluded from the efforts to fight it.
Taiwan is a manufacturing powerhouse and is in the top 20 globally for carbon emissions. The government is doing its best to decarbonize in step with the rest of the world, so Taiwan’s actions will have a significant impact on global efforts to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
Taiwan has in the past sent delegations into formal negotiating spaces as observers, but opportunities for doing so have diminished in recent years. Despite this, the country will continue its determined push to combat climate change. Such commitment is just the kind the conference needs.
When the world meets in Belem, the 24 million people of Taiwan will be without a voice in those talks. Climate change is a global issue that knows no borders. It requires not just national but also global solutions.
COP30 is not supposed to be just about greenhouse gas emissions. It is also about a just transition that includes equity and inclusion. Let Taiwan join in climate change talks so it can contribute to climate change dialogue on the global stage.
KENT WANG
Advisory commissioner for the Overseas Community Affairs Council, Republic of China (Taiwan) in the United States
Potomac Falls, Virginia
Please read our comment policy before commenting.