Abstract

This report presents the first attempt to evaluate the progress of Taiwan towards sustainable development during the past decade. Over the past two decades, Taiwan, with several Asian countries, experienced the fastest economic growth, and little attention was paid to sustainability.

Many statistics indicate how far away Taiwan is from sustainable development. Numbers, in population density, motor vehicle per kilometer of road, fertilizer and pesticide usage, and cement consumption all are among highest in the world.

Using the methodology developed by Sustainable Energy Watch, several indicators are presented. Most indicators listed in this report show little improvement, and some are getting worse over the past ten years. All indicators are much worse than world averages. These indicate the urgent need for Taiwan to take immediate action.

Conclusions

There are few improvements in Taiwan energy policies of the past ten years leading towards sustainable development. Some of the indicators point to an opposite direction. Reasons may be manifold. Taiwan experienced a most active political transformation in the nineties. Energy issues were shelved in the political struggle. Decades of emphasis were put on the importance of fast economic development. Except for economic issues, the general public showed little interest in global issues due to lack of means of participation in public life in the last two decades.

In 2000, the old ruling KMT lost Presidential election and became the opposition party for the first time in 50 years. It was chaotic for many to adjust to the new situation, even up to the present time. In a few years, people will not be satisfied with the symbolic promises, and will ask for real commitments. By then, chances of improvement in sustainable development will be small. From an environmental NGO's point of view, it is to be wished that the prediction is wrong.

Acknowlegements

The author would like to thanks Dr. Wang, To-Far for supplying some important data. Thanks also go to Ms. Hsu, Shu-Yin for collecting government reports.