RSPRC Publication

[Event Review] Taiwan Risk Society Forum- Reflection on Kaohsiung Gas Explosion on the first 100-day anniversary

 

  The day this forum was held marked the first 100-day anniversary since Kaohsiung Gas Explosion occurred in the morning of 1st August this year. Except plans for petrochemical zone and high-value petrochemical industry promotion office as a way to solve the problems of high energy consumption, high pollution, low output value, the government failed to propose any direction and strategies corresponding to climate change, energy and industry transformation.

  Building on the profit basis originating from government energy subsidy, Taiwans petrochemical industry produced added value less than 4% while consuming 44.84% energy of industrial sector and the energy consumption rate even accounting for 71.9% of energy-intensive industries. It demonstrates the severe challenge to petrochemical industry. In the future, once the world carbon emissions trading sanctions come into force, it will have a very negative effect on our economic development. Therefore, in responding to industries, energy, environment and public health, Risk Society and Policy Research Center (RSPRC) of National Taiwan University Social Science College invites scholars to compose The Swan Song of Sustainable Development: Environmental Justice and Transitional Inertia in Kaohsiung Gas Blast to discuss the problems facing our petrochemical industry.

  After the meeting, Risk Society and Policy Research Center had the following 6 statements:

  Regarding public safety and disaster emergency response:

  1. Conduct a thorough review of the disaster response, firefighting, and emergency management in this gas blast event, and the results should be revealed to the public.
  2. Propose programmatic changes, stricter management of the pipeline operations in petrochemical industry, and information transparency.
  3. Regarding brown economy, air pollution, environmental pollution, and sanctions from climate change convention:
  4. The government should have a clear plan for the roadmap of transformation, and drop the backward industry strategy that highly consumes energy, petrochemical materials and incompatible with national economic security strategy.
  5. The government should plan and promote the sustainability of petrochemical industry with foresight and vision, and avoid the misuse of experts in endorsing the out-of-date industrial models.
  6. The government should promote a complete industrial transformation, and set up a 10-year emission reduction target in order to avoid the sanctions from the world and the climate change convention.
  7. The industry should face the international conventions, strengthen research and innovation, and abandon the production model relying on subsidy in order to keep competitive advantage, to receive public supports, and to foster sustainable development.

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