Groups pan higher subsidies for gas-powered scootersBy Lin Chia-nan / Staff reporterEnvironmental groups yesterday criticized the government for spending more subsidies on gasoline-powered scooters than on electric ones, questioning its resolve to combat air pollution and promote sustainability. Former EPA deputy minister Thomas Chan (詹順貴) said that the Cabinet under Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) has reduced its efforts to combat air pollution. The EPA’s air pollution control fund, with an annual budget of NT$7 billion to NT$8 billion, should stop subsidizing vehicles that cause air pollution, he said. While the Cabinet in 2018 said that it aims to ban the sale of gasoline-powered scooters by 2035 and gasoline-powered vehicles by 2040, the goals were dropped after Su assumed office, Chan said. The government should stick to those goals, Tsai said, adding that as of September, the market share of such scooters was only 10 percent.

Source: Taipei Times November 18, 2020 15:56 UTC