Premier Mao Chi-kuo today accompanied President Ma Ying-jeou to the opening ceremony of the National Energy Conference plenary session and delivered an address to the delegates.
The premier thanked representatives from various sectors for their enthusiastic participation in exploring various issues concerning the nation's energy sources. He added that he expects the conference delegates to consider the subject from various angles and explore all possibilities for developing national energy policy based on the nation's energy situation and appraisal of each option's risks and costs.
The conference theme is "Where will future electricity come from?" and encompasses three subtopics: "demand and effective conservation," "stable supply and new sources" and "low-carbon environment and sustainability." The conference's core issue lies in exploring what mix of energy sources would be best for the nation.
The premier said the nation's energy mix is like a buffet. For example, diners generally wish the buffet to be reasonably priced, and then among the multitudinous dishes, they choose not only what they like to eat but also foods that are nutritious and healthy.
Nevertheless, many differences exist between an energy mix and a buffet, Mao continued. Firstly, the choices for Taiwan's energy "dishes" are relatively limited. Secondly, if a diner finds a chosen buffet dish is not good, he or she can simply avoid it in the next round, whereas when a decision is made on an energy source, there is a certain degree of irreversibility. It often takes more than a generation to verify an energy decision's efficacy, Mao said, and unlike a computer game in which one can reset to recover one's original status when inadequacies are found, it may take yet another generation to rectify such a situation.
Another difficulty in deciding energy policy is that every choice has its own advantages and disadvantages, Mao pointed out. Thus when a decision is made about an energy source, its advantages and shortcomings must both be accepted, its benefits enjoyed and its costs borne.
The premier called upon the participants to exercise extreme caution and discretion in discussing the nation's energy policy choices because the issue is highly complex and decisions made will have far-reaching effects.
Any decision is a value judgment based on the facts at hand, Mao stated. Again he took up the buffet metaphor, likening fact-finding to the appraisal of whether a certain dish is nutritious and healthy; sweet, sour, bitter or spicy; expensive or economical; and so on. Such information is based on objective facts, and the facts cannot change because of one's subjective will or preference. However, whether to eat a dish is a value judgment, a subjective decision based on the available information, stated the premier.
The agenda for the conference has been divided between fact-finding and value judgments and proceeded in three stages, Mao said. The first stage was dedicated to fact-finding to clarify background information. Basic data about demand, supply and the environment were gathered through public consultation, and recommended scholars and experts in various fields then debated and reviewed the content to confirm its objectivity. These data and discourses were archived as "open data" that would serve as the foundation for future energy discussions.
The second stage was for regional, group and online meetings. The third is the National Energy Conference plenary session opening today, which is focused on recommended response measures concerning demand, supply and the environment. Delegates may make proposals in accordance with their value judgments and the background information confirmed in the fact-finding stage.
Since the September 2014 announcement of the conference, a total of 27 forums have been held, Mao emphasized. He thanked netizens, private-sector representatives, and recommended scholars and experts for their enthusiastic participation throughout this period.
The conference delegates come from different fields, communities and perspectives, Mao said. He thus hopes that these participants will explore energy policy and electricity development possibilities on the bases of the nation's unique circumstances with respect to resources as well as the risks and costs attendant to each energy decision. These suggestions will serve as references for future administration, he affirmed.