CARTOON: Taiwan Pulled from Climate Summit by Political Undertow

While EPA Minister Lee Ying-yuan rowed into the waves of international negotiations, meeting with ministers outside the conference, he was ultimately left in the water when it came to entering the conference and affecting change within the system.

This is especially unfortunate as Taiwan is estimated to be the seventh most severely affected nation in the world due to climate change, behind only Haiti, Zimbabwe, Fiji, Sri Lanka, Vietnam and India.

Despite major investments in clean energy, China’s carbon emissions are expected to rise 3.5 percent this year, ending a 3-year streak of lowering their greenhouse gas output.

So while the lifeboat of climate negotiations might not be the steadiest at the moment, Taiwan is certainly heading into some deep water.