"As a constructive member of the global village, Taiwan is keen to participate in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) signing-party conference slated for December in Copenhagen, so that the world can gain an understanding of Taiwan's efforts in this field, " Ma said during a citation at the Presidential Office for outstanding environmental protection activists.

The Taiwanese delegation that hopes to attend the UNFCCC meeting will include representatives from non-government groups such as the Industrial Technology Research Institute, the Environmental Quality Protection Foundation and the Taiwan Institute for Sustainable Energy.

"We hope that government representatives will also be able to attend the UNFCCC conference in the future, " Ma said, adding that "although Taiwan is not a signatory of the Kyoto protocol, we are committed to serving international responsibilities." The Kyoto protocol is an international pact affiliated to the UNFCCC and is aimed at fighting increased global warming.

The government will need some NT$100 billion (US$3.08 billion) to meet its energy saving and carbon reduction aims next year, according to an assessment conducted by the Cabinet-level Council for Economic Planning and Development in August.

In April this year, Ma made it clear that the government had set a goal of reducing energy intensity -- calculated as units of energy consumption per unit of gross domestic product -- by 20 percent in 2015 from the 2005 level, and further by 50 percent in 2025.

It was reported that Taiwan produced some 278 million tons of carbon dioxide in 2007.

In 2005, the government estimated that annual CO2 emissions from the country could almost double to 530 million tons by 2025. It has expressed hope that its proposed policy will reduce CO2 emissions by 2025 by 170 million tons.

(By Garfie Lee and Flor Wang)