Taipei forum addresses climate justice

An international forum was held in Taiwan today that brought together experts to discuss the participation of non-governmental organisations (NGO's) in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), according to the Taiwanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The Ministry organised the forum with the Environmental Protection Administration with the aim of promoting active participation from leading regional NGO's in the UNFCCC process.

Taiwan is cuurently not a UNFCCC member and has been boosting its NGO's activities to support climate chnage mitigationa nd adaptation; a strategy which has been described as the country's "best bet for participation" in the UNFCCC, according to Marilyn Averill, chair of the convention's Steering Committee for Research and Independent Non-governmental Organizations.

Similar statements were made earlier in the day by Frederic Laplanche, head of the European Economic and Trade Office in Taipei. According to Laplanche, NGOs play a fundamental role in continuing to push for the country's participation on the international stage.

Laplanche called for an increase in the government budget for investing in climate change-related issues and also for the private sector to increase its focus and investments more in this area.

The forum brought together over 100 participants and speakers, including Gotelind Alber, focal point of the UNFCCC NGO Women and Gender Constituency, who spoke on "gender and climate justice" and the importance of women taking part in policymaking.

The foreign ministry notes that although Taiwan is not a party to the framework convention, it has held events along with Taiwanese NGOs on the sidelines of the UNFCCC's Conference of the Parties (COP) meetings.

There are some 1,600 NGO observers under the auspices of the UNFCCC, four of which are from Taiwan, according to the ministry.