Sir, – Naomi O’Leary’s article indicated the world was 2 per cent warmer than the average pre-industrial temperatures for the first time on November 17th (“Earth tips 2 percent warmer in worrying milestone”, World, November 20th).
Obviously, we should not only accelerate efforts to limit greenhouse gas emissions but also face up to and manage the crises we are about to face. This is especially important for island countries such as Ireland and Taiwan.
Ireland and Taiwan are large islands. However, because important industrial and commercial cities are located in coastal areas, they will be directly impacted by rising sea levels caused by warming.
Take Dublin and Taipei as examples. If the sea level rises more than 50 centimetres, transportation and some infrastructures are very likely to be damaged. The impact of extreme climate is not something that existing urban systems can withstand. In its 2007 report, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) pointed out that Taiwan is one of the high-risk groups facing the impact of climate change, and issued warnings that what island countries must face in terms of climate risks are more severe than those faced by other countries.
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Developing small island countries are more vulnerable to climate change. New scientific evidence shows that existing climate projection models underestimate the rate of ice sheet loss in Greenland and west Antarctica. The accelerated disappearance of ice will cause sea levels to rise, causing many island countries to plan population evacuation policies in advance.
For the foreseeable future, we will face an influx of climate change refugees.
I hope that Ireland can serve as a leader for island countries in facing the challenges of climate change. I also hope that Ireland will support Taiwan’s participation in the 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference, or Cop28, in Dubai, and other related mechanisms. – Yours, etc,
PIERRE TP YANG,
Representative,
Taipei Representative
Office in Ireland,
Dublin 2.