On my bike!

Taipei Rental Bicycle circa 2009

It’s not as if we are leading the world or in fact the region in a low carbon agenda and action on climate change. In fact my limited but increasing experience in the region is that we have a lot of catch up. However despite this there is still an engagement that cities in Asia seek on our experiences and knowledge on climate change action. As an island nation we have and will continue to experience extreme weather related events that will increasingly be exacerbated by climate change. I mean the widely held view amongst our Asian neighbours must surely be that we could not possibly remain impotent in the face of such events.

I have been invited to participate in the 2011 International Forum for a Low Carbon Future to be held in Taipei, Taiwan from 23 - 25 March. This is a national event for the100th anniversary of Taiwan and will be held in the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall. The main objective of this event is to exchange information in education for climate change and carbon reduction. It is supported and sponsored by the National Science Council of Taiwan and the National Taiwan Normal University Taipei, Taiwan. This will be my fourth visit to Taiwan and certainly I hope not my last. My topic is ‘Climate Change Education for a low carbon future: a local government viewpoint’.