The Pingtung Low Carbon and Sustainable Home project aims to bring Pingtung County towards a low-carbon county. Through the project, our team assisted the townships and communities in participating in the Low-Carbon Sustainable Home Certification. The county can follow the work of its own development and goals, while responding to the central policy and improving the effect of low-carbon sustainable certification in Pingtung County.
The implementation of this project includes technical consulting and counseling, administrative assistance for the coordination of work across bureaus, and information integration. This project was implemented from Januaary 18, 2023, to November 17, 2023, 10 months in total. Attendence books are attached as Annex I. Gender Checklists are attached as Annex II. The implementation outcomes are described as follows:
1. Maintaining the operation of “low-carbon and sustainable homes promotion office”
Appointments of 4 members of the Pingtung County Technical Consultation and Rating Committee were completed on February 9. The business communication meeting for the Southern Cities Living ring was held on May 11. The meeting was responding to Climate Change Response Act and net-zero policy, and Pingtung County exchanged opinions with Southern Cities(Chiayi County, Chiayi City, Tainan City, Kaohsiung City). The project team went to Xinlong Community in Fangliao Township to have a meeting with technical consultation and rating committee on September 23, simulating the application of silver-level certification to invite southern cities and members of the technical review committee to provide instructures and suggestions to the community.
2. Promoting low-carbon and sustainable homes in Pingtung County
Second-phase greenhouse gas reduction implementation plan of Pingtung county was approved on April 13, and implementation outcome report was completed on November 29. The first low-carbon sustainable development and climate change response promotion meeting of Pingtung County was held on July 7. There were 4 issues discussed in the meeting, including the establishment of the promotion committee, the structure of 2023 Voluntary Local Review and Carbon Disclosure Project, and 2022 city governance of environmental protection and sustainability indicators. The second meeting was held on November 14, and focused on education, training and key indicators of net-zero green living, and the outcome report of the second-phase greenhouse gas reduction implementation plan which will be submitted at the end of 2023.
3. Assisting townships and communities in participating certification of low-carbon sustainable homes
This project assitsted villages with low participation rate, including 11 villages in Pingtung City and 3 villages in Donggang Township, in participating certification of low-carbon sustainable homes.
At present, the participation rate of 33 townships has increased to more than 50% (17 townships with 100% of participation rate).
Project team also assisted 5 villages in obtaining Bronze-level certification, including Yongan Village of Pingtung City, Dazhou Village of Pingtung City, Dawu Village of Wutai Township, Xinjie Village of Checheng Township and Gangdong Village of Kanding Township. As a results, this project has reached the goal of “all townships with certification of Bronze-level villages”, and tutoring rate has reached 100%.
This project assisted Dongpian Village of Neipu Township in obtaining Silver-level certification on October 13. On-site inspection list of 10 villages was confirmed by Ministry of Environment on February 1, and the inspections were completed on June 2 and June 5. The ratings were all mainted the same, and the inspection forms were sent to the Ministry of Environment on July 7.
4. Promoting and operating low-carbon activities based on local features and the greening of building for cooling down
This project has assissted 4 villages in maintaining low-carbon items, 5 villages in establishing low-carbon items and 2 villages in greening buildings for cooling down. Consequently, 5,101 kgCo2e/year can be reduced by 15 low-carbon items in 11villages.
5. Assistting commercail and residential sector (including communities and schools) in creating energy-saving demonstration sites
This project cooperated with Wang Weimin, an associate professor of Energy Conservation Center, Kunshan University, to build a energy-saving counseling team. The team went to Pingtung University, Chaozhou Station, Pingtung Hospital, Shizhi Junior High School, Wandan Elderly Center and Wayao Elementary School to conduct energy conservation counseling in 6 sites and collected evaluation suggestions as the basis for improvements. After comprehensive assessment, this project decided to assist Shizhi Junior High School, Wantan Elderly center, Chaozhou Station and Wayao Elementary School, a total of 4 sites, to replace old lightning and design energy-saving education signboards. All items were replaced and set up before the end of August. It is estimated to save 15,000 kWh/year and reduce 7,500 kgCO2e/year.
6. Implementing sustainable development plan
This project collected 9 villages with disaster potentials and completed on-site surveys. After assessments, the project team focused on SDG 13 “Climate Action” and went to Kochapongan Village of Wutai Township and Vungalid Village of Laiyi Township to have sustainable development meetings. After discussing with local residents, our team assistted Kochapongan Village in building permeable pavement to reduce soil loss. Futhermore, our team also assissted Vungalid Village in installing solar street lights and providing disaster prevention equipments (emergency lightniing, walkie-talkie, emergency tent) to strengthen adaptability in communities.
7. The promotion of low-carbon sustainable homes
The project team focused on SDGs and net-zero green living as promotion topic and held 2 observation and learning activities. The activities were held in communities and enterprises with high sustainable effectiveness, including green energy, energy-saving actions, resource circulation, and other net-zero actions. Participants could get experiences and creat sustainable and net-zero communities based on local fetures. In order to increse website's practicality and click through rate, the project team increased new functions, for exmple, publishing activity results to attract people to browse the website and placing gender equality slogans to enhance people's awareness of SDG 5 "Gender Equality". Until November, the click through rate of the website has increased 13% more than last year, and a total of 100 low-carbon and sustainable news, 8 conferences and event information, and 4 event outcomes were released. In response to the policy of banning plastic bags in 2030 issued by Ministry of Environment, this project purchased a total of 300 promotio materials, including “multifunction travel bag" and "insulated thermal bag".
8. Administrative cooperation
This project assisted in assessing the list of 80 sites for installing solar energy systems and submitted the list on March 8 and July 24 to complete “bonus points: assessment of installing solar energy system for low-carbon and sustainable homes.”
Moreover, the project team reported implementation outcomes of the first half year on “annual evaluation system” of low-carbon and sustainable website, including (1) progress of implementing low-carbon actions in villages, (2) situations of education traning and promotion, and (3)operation and maintance of outcomes in villages.
Greenhouse gas inventory of enterprises was conducted by “2022 The project of climate change response and international affairs” and this project collected the outcomes. The report was submitted to Ministry of Environment on October 17 and outcomes of the second half year will be provided before the end of December. The project team assissted in writing “net-zero green living plan of Pingtung County” and submitted to Ministry of Envoronment on April 28.
