Taipei - Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou on Tuesday expressed the wish that Taiwan can have official representation at the Copenhagen climate summit. "Taiwan now can only be represented by civic groups and non- governmental organizations (NGO) at next month's Copenhagen climate conference. We hope that in future, our government representatives can also attend this international event," Ma said while receiving representatives from environmental protection groups.
Ma said that attending the Copenhagen conference is part of Taipei's plan to participate in United Nations' activities.
He said that although Taiwan could not sign the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 1997 and the Kyoto Protocol in 2005, since it is not a UN member, it can play an important role in the fight against climate change.
"Taiwan's population accounts only for three-thousandth of the world population, but its greenhouse gas emission accounts for one- hundredth of the world's total greenhouse gas emission," he said.
The Copenhagen conference, set for December 7-18, is the 15th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 15). It will attract some 10,000 people, including officials from UN member countries and representatives from NGOs.
Taiwan cannot send an official delegation to the meeting because it is not a UN member.
Taiwan, formally called the Republic of China, lost its UN seat to China in 1971.
Currently recognized by 23 countries, Taiwan can only join very few UN-related organizations and their meetings, apparently with permission from China which sees Taiwan as its breakaway province.
