Washington – U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt met with Minister Ying-Yuan Lee from EPA Taiwan (EPAT) under the auspices of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States (TECRO), to mark the renewal of the environmental partnership that addresses Asian regional and global environmental challenges. EPA and EPAT reaffirmed their commitment to work under Taiwan’s International Environmental Partnership (IEP) program to address environmental challenges such as air pollution, mercury monitoring, and electronic waste management.
Experts from EPA and EPAT have collaborated under the auspices of an agreement between AIT and TECRO first signed in 1993. Through the IEP launched in 2014, U.S. and Taiwan environmental experts are now working with more than three dozen countries around the world to address environmental challenges such as air pollution, environmental enforcement, mercury monitoring, e-waste management, contaminated site remediation, and environmental education.
“The United States has always been a world leader when it comes to environmental stewardship,” Administrator Pruitt said. “Engaging internationally and with EPA Taiwan is important to address environmental issues not only in Asia, but around the world. Minister Lee deserves to be commended for EPA Taiwan’s leadership in improving air quality, mercury monitoring, and e-waste management. And Taiwan’s recently unveiled Voluntary National Review of the Sustainable Development Goals is one more example of Taiwan’s leadership and commitment.”
Minister Lee released Taiwan’s Voluntary Review Report on September 15 in New York, which details Taiwan’s measures to advance the 17 goals in the U.N. 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
“I am pleased to meet Administrator Pruitt during my visit to Washington, witness the renewal of our AIT-TECRO bilateral agreement, announce two new initiatives under the IEP on children’s health and air quality protection, and advance cooperation on e-waste, mercury monitoring, regional enforcement and other areas,” said Minister Lee at their meeting today.
Through this partnership, U.S. and Taiwan environmental experts have worked to manage the environment and reduce pollution through collaborative projects, research, and technical exchanges. Over a dozen U.S. stakeholders are also involved in sharing environmental innovations, including American Chamber of Commerce Taiwan, Dell Computers, University of Illinois, and North America Association for Environmental Education.
For more information on U.S. EPA’s international engagements, visit: https://www.epa.gov/international-cooperation
Contact Information: AITmedia@mail.ait.org.tw or press@epa.gov
