Fubon Cultural and Educational Foundation announced the donation of NT$30 million in research funding over five years to the NTU Risk Society and Research Center on April 19.  Motivated out of concern for Taiwan’s societal, environmental, and economic development, the foundation called for the policy research of sustainable economic and social development strategies.  During the announcement ceremony, NTU President Pan-Chyr Yang joined Chairperson of Fubon Financial Holding Co. Daniel Ming-Chung Tsai in signing the donation agreement.

Besides the generous funding, the foundation, in collaboration with NTU, launched the Fubon Globalization Lectures, a lecture series that will invite intellectual luminaries and prominent scholars to share their visionary insights concerning interdisciplinary issues related to globalization.  The series was set up for the purpose of leading the public in cultivating innovative thinking regarding the development of society.

The first lecture of the series took place on the day of the donation announcement.  Presented by Nobel laureate and former Academia Sinica president Yuan-Tseh Lee, the lecture, entitled “We Do Not Have Much Time Left,” explored approaches to achieving breakthroughs in energy transformation in Taiwan during this era of global climate change.

During his talk, Lee stressed that as the world confronts a major crisis of global climate change, Taiwan finds itself at a crucial juncture marked by the need for rapid carbon use reduction as well as change in energy production and societal habits.  He emphasized the need for every sector of Taiwan, including the government, scientists, non-governmental organizations, businesses, and the general public, to work together in taking aggressive action against the climate challenges so as to create a new and better future.

Following the lecture, a forum led by author Hsiao Yeh, Prof. Kuang-Jung Hsu of the Department of Atmospheric Science, and Green Citizens’ Action Alliance Chairperson Wei-Chieh Lai, all of whom are prominent figures in the areas of arts and culture, academia, and environmental protection, continued to address the issues of globalization, climate change, and energy transformation.

Surveys of public attitudes regarding climate change conducted by the NTU Risk Society and Research Center in 2012 and 2015 revealed that a high and growing percentage of Taiwanese citizens support government reforms aimed at shifting to greener energy sources.  The percentage of the public willing to support renewable energy through higher electricity prices climbed from 81.6% in 2012 to 85.1% in 2015, while the percentage supportive of government-imposed energy and environment taxes rose from 61.1% in 2012 to 68.0% in 2015.