Premier Sean Chen on May 29 called on all citizens to conserve energy, reduce their carbon footprint and make electricity-saving actions daily habits.
"If Taiwan's 8.08 million households effectively practiced energy-saving measures, each household could save 1 kilowatt-hour (kwh) of electricity per day, which would save the island 2.95 billion kwh of electricity per year and cut its carbon dioxide emissions by an amount equal to 4,641 times the CO2 absorbed by Taipei's Da-an Forest Park," said Chen while participating in an energy conservation promotional event held by the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) in Taipei.
"Everyone can become a 'governor of saving' (in Chinese, 'save' and 'province' share the same character, 省) by conserving electricity, water, oil and paper in order to make a personal contribution to creating a low-carbon environment," Chen added.
During the event, the premier, Economics Minister Shih Yen-shiang and Energy Bureau Director-General Jerry J. R. Ou successively invited representatives from seven major chain retailers, the food and beverage industry, the financial sector, the transportation industry and volunteer and religious groups to the stage to post stickers identifying their companies or organizations, pledge their determination to save energy and call for citizens' full support of the summer conservation campaign. Six well-known television hosts were also invited to demonstrate ways to save energy.
A total of 32 enterprises and non-governmental organizations took part in the event, according to MOEA officials. Premier Chen thanked all participating parties and expressed hope that by exchanging experiences and observations, they could conceive further energy-saving ideas and inspire the rest of the private sector to conserve comprehensively.