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Taiwan 2002 |
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Environmental Protection |
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Air QualityAir pollution is one of the most serious problems in Taiwan, due to heavy traffic and a high concentration of industrial plants. The Environmental Protection Administration 環境保護署 (EPA) reported in 2000 that there were 2.76 registered factories and 445 motor vehicles for every square kilometer in the Taiwan area. Overall, there were some 16.32 million vehicles (5.36 million cars and 10.96 million motorcycles) registered in the Taiwan area, nearly three for every four people. According to the EPA, vehicular exhaust comprises more than 95 percent of the air pollution in Taipei, Taiwan's largest city.According to EPA measurements of air quality in 2000, ozone and suspended particles were the primary air pollutants in the Taiwan area. On average, the percentage of days in 2000 in which the pollution standard index (PSI) recorded over 100 for the entire Taiwan area was 5.18. In the Kaohsiung and Pingtung areas, the PSI exceeded 100 during 18 percent of the days in 1996. Thus, in August 1997, the EPA established an office in the area and began the Air Pollution Improvement Project. The purpose of this office was to conduct total quality control and assist the local governments' environmental protection bureaus in reducing pollution from stationary and mobile sources and eliminating illegal ones. By the end of 2000, the percentage of days in these two areas with PSI values greater than 100 had been lowered to 11.7. To more effectively monitor air pollution, the EPA set up the Taiwan Area Air Quality Monitoring Network 臺灣地區空氣品質監測網, which began operations in September 1993. The network includes 72 stationary automatic air quality monitoring stations, two mobile monitoring stations, and one air quality assurance laboratory. In January 1996, the EPA divided Taiwan into eight air quality prediction areas and began issuing next-day air quality forecasts islandwide. On July 1, 1995, the EPA began collecting a broad surcharge on fuel in the form of an air pollution control (APC) fee. Under this scheme, a per-liter fee of US$0.006 was imposed on both premium diesel fuel and leaded gasoline. Since January 1, 2000, leaded gasoline has been phased out, and a per-liter fee of US$0.003 and US$0.01 has been imposed on Grade 2 and Grade 3 unleaded gasoline, respectively. The fee has not been levied on Grade 1, the best unleaded gasoline. APC fees were also levied on exhausted NOx 氮氧化物 (US$0.094-0.375 per kg) and exhausted SOx 硫氧化物 (US$0.016-0.313 per kg) in air pollution control zones. In fiscal year 2000, the APC fee system generated almost US$96 million. The funds collected from APC fees are earmarked for carrying out air pollution control programs, such as implementing air quality improvement plans at the local level, establishing environmental conservancy parks, subsidizing the purchase of electric motorcycles, and converting automobile engines to allow them to run on liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). The first LPG station for such converted automobiles was opened in Taipei City on March 15, 1996, and today there are nine LPG stations in Taiwan.
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