The Indo-Pacific and Southeast Asia Youth Seminar on Climate Change got underway July 12 in Taipei City as part of government efforts seeking meaningful participation for Taiwan in the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change.
 
Organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the two-day event involves 20 participants from 10 countries like Australia, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. Attendees will examine the role of communities and indigenous people in the UNFCCC, as well as learn how to draft and negotiate international environmental agreements.
 
In addition, keynote addresses will be delivered by Carlos Fuller, former chair of the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice of the UNFCCC; Ian Fry, ambassador for climate change and environment of diplomatic ally Tuvalu; and Fan Chien-te, a professor of law in science and technology at National Tsing Hua University in Hsinchu City, northern Taiwan.
 
Lincoln Yao-chun Ting, director-general of the MOFA’s Department of Treaty and Legal Affairs, said during his opening remarks that the seminar is a valuable platform for promoting exchanges between young people on pressing environment-related issues.
 
Although Taiwan is not a member of the UNFCCC, it is willing and able to work with the global community in achieving targets set out in the Paris Agreement, he added.
 
Reached at the 21st annual Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC in December 2015, the accord aims to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions, foster climate adaptation and resilience, and promote sustainable development.
 
No country should be missing from global efforts to combat climate change through mitigation and adaption, Ting said, adding that Taiwan will continue garnering global support for its constructive, pragmatic and professional participation in the UNFCCC. (SFC-E)

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