| Summary: |
This chapter examines how Taiwan's democracy has performed in the area of environmental protection in its democratic consolidation period. The success of Taiwan's environmental movement is considered through its sensitizing, procedural, structural, substantive and political impacts. The chapter first reviews the environmental record of Taiwan's authoritarian and democratic transition eras, before looking in more depth at the post 2008 period. It does this by examining four environmental case studies: (1) opposition to the expansion of the petrochemical industry, (2) nuclear energy debates, (3) energy policy debates, and (4) the environmental movement's political impacts. The case studies suggest that democracy is working in the realm of environmental protection and that Taiwan thus deserves the title Green Democracy.
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