EZ News 01/24/25

Good afternoon, I'm _____ with today's episode of EZ News. Government pledges to reduce carbon emissions by 26-30 percent by 2030 The government says it plans to further reduce carbon emissions to reflect the island's commitment to net zero. Speaking at the third meeting of the Presidential Office's climate change committee, President Lai Ching-te announced what he called the government's "more ambitious ( 有雄心的) carbon reduction targets." According to Lai, his administration will work to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by between 26 and 30-per cent by 2030 compared to 2005 levels. Lai told the committee that the revised reductions mean Taiwan's carbon emissions should be reduced between 30 and 34-per cent by 2032. The president went on to say it's crucial for the people of Taiwan to take more active steps in fulfilling a responsibilities to the international community. TaiwanICDF opens applications for overseas volunteers The Taiwan I-C-D-F foreign aid agency has announced that's accepting applications for its annual volunteer program that provides humanitarian and other assistance to the nation's diplomatic allies and less-developed countries. The agency is funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. And it says it will recruit 44 volunteers to work in areas such as information technology, public health, veterinary science, nutritional science, nursing, health education, mental health and epidemiological (流行病學的) statistics. Taiwanese nationals aged 20 or above are eligible (有資格的) to apply. Those selected will be deployed to one of 11 countries in the Asia Pacific, the Caribbean, Africa, and Central and South America for six months to a year, it added. The deadline for all applications is February 10. Cold weather forecast in run-up to Lunar New Year The Central Weather Administration says low temperatures and rain can be expected ahead of Lunar New Year's Day next Wednesday. A strong continental cold air mass is forecast to approach Taiwan on Monday - sending the mercury down to below 10 degrees in some areas. The cold front is forecast to be at strongest on Lunar New Year's Eve and into Lunar New Year's Day - when parts of the north and east could see lows of 9-degrees. Other area will see lows of between 12 and 14-degrees next Tuesday and Wednesday. The weather administration says snow is also likely to fall at elevations over 2,000-meters in the north and east. The cold front is expected to weaken from next Thursday and temperatures rebound. However, another cold front is expected to approach the island on the second to last day of the nine-day Lunar New Year holiday - once again bringing down temperatures in the north and east. Trump to Visit States Hit by Natural Disasters US President Donald Trump will today visit North Carolina and California, two American states recently ravaged (摧殘) by natural disasters. Benji Hyer reports. UN Climate Interrupting Schooling The United Nations Children's Fund says over 200 million children had their schooling interrupted last year because of heatwaves, cyclones, flooding and other extreme weather. UNICEF says it amounted to one in seven school-going children across the world being kept out of class at some point in 2024 because of climate crises. The new UNICEF report released today also outlines (概述) how some countries saw hundreds of their schools destroyed, with low-income nations in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa hit especially hard. But while deadly floods and cyclones hit the world in 2024, UNICEF says heatwaves were “the predominant climate hazard shuttering schools last year." That was the I.C.R.T. EZ News, I'm _____. -- Hosting provided by SoundOn