THE SENATE	S.C.R. NO.	73
TWENTY-SIXTH LEGISLATURE, 2012		H.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII

SENATE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

URGING THE UNITED NATIONS TO GRANT TAIWAN PARTICIPATION AS AN OBSERVER IN THE UNITED NATIONS FRAMEWORK CONVENTION ON CLIMATE CHANGE CONFERENCE OF THE PARTIES.

WHEREAS, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (Convention) is an international environmental treaty produced at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development; and

     WHEREAS, the parties to the Convention have met annually from 1995 in the Conference of the Parties to assess progress in dealing with climate change.  In 1997, the Kyoto Protocol was concluded and established legally binding obligations for developed countries to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions; and

     WHEREAS, as of May 2011, the Convention had one hundred ninety-four member parties; and

     WHEREAS, parties to the Convention are classified as Annex I countries – industrialized countries and countries with economies in transition, Annex II countries – developed countries that pay for costs of developing countries, and Non Annex I countries - developing countries; and

     WHEREAS, there are forty-one Annex I countries; and

     WHEREAS, although the Republic of China, commonly known as Taiwan, is classified as an industrialized nation, that country has yet to be permitted to participate in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change; and

     WHEREAS, Taiwan aspires to have an active role in global efforts toward climate change mitigation and adaption; and
     WHEREAS, as the world's largest LED manufacturer and the second largest solar cell manufacturer, Taiwan's green energy industry is helping to significantly reduce global carbon emissions and enhance energy efficiency; and 

     WHEREAS, Taiwan has resolved to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by at least thirty percent relative to the Business-As-Usual benchmark by the year 2020; and

     WHEREAS, Taiwan's participation in the Convention process would conform to the spirit and the purpose of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which acknowledges that the "global nature of climate change calls for the widest possible cooperation"; and

     WHEREAS, Taiwan's Environmental Protection Administration should be admitted to participate as an observer in the sessions of the Conference of the Parties, since it is qualified in matters covered by the Convention; and

     WHEREAS, Taiwan has participated in the World Health Assembly as an observer since 2009; and

     WHEREAS, there is increasing international support for Taiwan's meaningful participation in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change from other countries and international governmental organizations such as the European Parliament, Central American Parliament, and the Association of Pacific Island Legislatures; now, therefore,

     BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-sixth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2012, the House of Representatives concurring, that the United Nations is urged to grant Taiwan participation as an observer in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Conference of the Parties; and
     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Secretary of the United States Department of State, the Secretary General of the United Nations, the President of the Republic of China, the Director of the United States Environmental Protection Agency, and the Minister of the Taiwan Environmental Protection Administration.

Report Title: 

Taiwan Participation as an Observer in the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change Conference of the Parties