Taiwan’s Youth Can Help, Too.

“Taiwan can help” is a slogan that was broadcasted all over the media to show the example set by the Taiwanese people and government in the management of the COVID crisis, both on the island and internationally. A strong message embodied in a completely unique political situation: Taiwan’s international legitimacy is still denied, Taiwan is still excluded from the World Health Organisation and yet it succeeded in managing the situation the best.

If such a peculiar country is capable of managing a sanitary crisis so well, we believe it can also be a unique example in managing the ecological crisis.

However, whilst Taiwan is suffering from international exclusion on climate change too, there is still a lot to be done to acquire the best management of climate change. A crisis that a lot of youths are having a hard time accepting. We want to fight for our existence, now and in a future to be made possible with the necessary actions. We believe we can show the way, and that Taiwan can help with climate change too.

Climate change in Taiwan

Climate change in Taiwan is a topic that takes a peculiar scale. Taiwan is an island in a particularly sensitive area of the globe, the western shore of the Pacific Ocean in Asia. It is home to an extremely unique and diverse ecosystem, several blends of cultures and one of the most booming economies of the region. With official diplomatic ties with only 14 out of the 193 United Nations member states, it is a country that struggles to find balance between a necessary development (to remain internationally significant) and a necessary environmental protection (to protect the island’s integrity and to avoid pollution).

A struggle that can be easily seen through a few numbers. Despite being the 52nd most populous country, it is the 21st largest CO² emitter. A ranking we would love to see going in the other direction! One of the main rivers of the capital city Taipei is ranked to be the 16th most dirtiest river as 14,700 tons of plastic wastes flow into the ocean every year, a humble contribution to the amount of plastic wastes globally.

But it is a struggle that isn’t limited to Taiwan and that is known to the United Nations, who created the UNFCCC to be the core of international multilateral climate actions, providing yearly summits, budget, technology, tools and support to all included countries. Unfortunately, Taiwan is also excluded from the UNFCCC, leaving Taiwan’s Youth Coalition behind closed doors.

What Taiwanese youths are doing

This situation is not acceptable, but neither is doing our best even when excluded. What “Taiwan can help” has shown is that Taiwan can do tremendously even if it is taken out of the global equation. What are we waiting for to apply the same idea to climate change management? Taiwan Youth Climate Coalition (TWYCC) aims to remind everyone that we have a duty to the world and the future generations. TWYCC actively advocates to Taiwanese citizens, the government, and the international scene that we can lead the way. That we have to be exemplary as well, and to pressure for change.

• We pressure the Taiwanese government to follow the most recent and ambitious international agreements (Paris Agreement & Kyoto Protocol).
• We inform and provide the tools necessary for the civil society to take action. That is why we created a guidebook to educate every citizen on how to lobby legislators and pressure for change and conduct regular awareness campaigns.
• We connect with other international youth organisations to create, co-manage, and learn from multilateral international climate actions. One of the members of TWYCC was for example invited to speak in the COP22 closing ceremony on behalf of YOUNGO, the official children and youth constituency under the UNFCCC.

A call to international participation, outgrowing politics

Of course we demand to have a voice on the international stage and to be allowed to enter the UNFCCC, but we also want to show that there is another way for us to lead the climate change battle.

The world is now in a state like never before. With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, we are all forced to collaborate behind closed doors. We have all seen the role Taiwan can play and the risk in waiting for the governments to take action.

We invite everyone to collaborate, to favor a return to a new normal rather than to the previous ways. We invite everyone to use the collaborative tools on the Internet to allow democracy to thrive and keep all doors open.

Fighting climate change should not be a privilege to be earned politically. It is the right of every citizen of the world; it is the essence of democracy.

We are going to share our actions regularly here, hoping that our voice reaches international allies. We have a lot to learn, and a lot to give. Let’s fight together for climate justice and equality!