Citizens of the Earth, Taiwan
地球公民基金會

Citizens of the Earth, Taiwan (CET) is a grassroots Taiwanese environmental organization focused on protecting the mountains, forests, farmlands, and the East Coast of Taiwan. They also focus on industrial pollution, climate change, and energy transition.

In 2007, elementary school teacher Lee Ken-cheng and a group of teachers formed the Kaohsiung Teachers' Union's Ecology Education Center. In 2011, the group merged with the Taiwan Environmental Action Network (TEAN) to form CET.

To advocate for environmental justice and generational justice and to remain impartial and independent, CET does not accept government funding or donations from the corporations they supervise. CET puts its efforts into strengthening civil society, and deepening democracy.

CET operates offices in Taipei, Hualien, and Kaohsiung, to address issues across Taiwan. Through researching and promoting communications with the society, CET creates their social influences to address the solutions of environmental issues and legislative changes.

To preserve mountains, forests and farmlands, CET is committed to protecting the East Coast of Taiwan, participating in national land planning, and advocating for reforms in the mining industry. CET aims to integrate Indigenous culture into community-based initiatives for the sustainable management of natural resources in Taiwan.

CET was founded in Kaohsiung, Taiwan’s earliest and largest heavy industry cluster. Kaohsiung suffers from the worst air pollution in Taiwan, highlighting the urgency of addressing industrial pollution and industrial transition for us. CET not only proposes measures to reduce pollution during industrial transformation, but also prioritizes energy transition policies in industrial areas.

After the Fukushima nuclear accident in 2011, CET actively participated in the anti-nuclear movement, which facilitated Taiwan's energy transition towards low-carbon and non-nuclear by 2025, and the cancellation of Lungmen Nuclear Power Plant. As Taiwan has already declared to achieve a net-zero emissions by 2050, CET seeks to promote a just transition for carbon reduction with the “no one left behind” principle.

CET believes that if more people participate in the environmental movement, Taiwan can maintain sustainability, confront climate change and be a responsible “citizen” of the earth.