Ma, Vice President Vincent Siew, Presidential Secretary General Chan Chuen-poh, Chan's deputy Yeh Chin-chuan, and all other officials inked the document with a pledge to help cut back on carbon emissions.

To set an example, the Presidential Office also launched a "carbon reduction 1, 2, 3 program" with concrete targets of slashing power consumption by 10 percent, cutting water use by 20 percent, and shaving paper use by 30 percent.

From now on, male staff will not wear suit jackets unless for formal functions.

Air conditioner thermometers will be set at 26 degrees Centigrade with electric fans working as auxiliary appliances to help cool offices.

Except for certain documents, the back side of paper has to be used while staff will make more use of the Intranet for communications inside the Presidential Office.

In addition, a set of appliances will be installed to gather rain water for reuse.

The president, widely known for his frugal living style, shared his personal experiences on building the 10 major habits for individual persons being promoted by the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) and the Bureau of Energy.

'Feeding the horse, not pigs'

Ma said his wife, Chow Mei-ching, rarely prepares dishes more than they normally consume so as to reduce kitchen waste.

Chow said she prefers to "feed the horse" with fresh dishes, mainly locally produced ingredients, rather than generating kitchen waste to "feed the pigs," according to Ma.

Ma means "horse" in Mandarin.

Ma said he was trained by his father to always turn off lights and appliances when not in use.

He encouraged his colleagues to carry their own food utensils and choose public transport.

Ma's wife was forced only recently to switch her daily routine of taking the bus to her work place for the sake of saving energy.

Other major habits recommended by Ma included opening windows to reduce the use of air conditioners; rethinking before making purchases; shunning the buying of over-packaged products; walking more and driving less for fitness; and recycling unused items.

Reporters who have observed Ma closely on public occasions noticed that he always finishes the food given to him.

At the state banquet held in Kaohsiung celebrating Ma's inauguration, all the foods were procured locally.

The reporters said that neither Ma nor the first lady ordered new suits or dresses for the inauguration ceremonies and celebrations on May 20.

Few cut flowers were ordered to celebrate the assumption of office by senior officials.

Smaller cars are now assigned to them to replace the previous oil-guzzling models.

They also said Ma already made it clear not to use the presidential jet unless necessary.

This is another sharp contrast between Ma and his predecessor, former President Chen Shui-bian, who used government jets for his son's wedding and election campaignsSustainable guidelines

Meanwhile, the Cabinet led by Premier Liu Chao-shiuan adopted a new set of policy guidelines to promote the sustainable development and use of energy under the key principles of "high efficiency," "high value-added," "low emissions," and "low dependency (on foreign fuel sources)."

The "sustainable energy policy guidelines" were announced by Government Information Office Chief Vanessa Yea-ping Shih at the end of the regular weekly Cabinet meeting.

The R&D fund for projects related to developing renewable energy resources to NT$10 billion per year from the present level of NT$5 billion.

Premier Liu hoped that Taiwan can create a new "low-carbon" economy that balances economic development, environmental protection and social justice by following the new energy policy.

Liu also demanded that unclear power should be included in the options of "no-carbon-emission" energy and that the delayed fourth nuclear power plant should be completed as soon as possible, according to Shih.

In October 2000, the previous government decided to suspend the construction of the fourth plant. Construction was resumed after four months and is expected to become fully operational no sooner than late 2009.

Energy structure

The Cabinet also established several substantial steps to carry out the policy, Shih said, adding that the government will overhaul the energy structure by raising energy utilization efficiency, encouraging "clean" energy, and promoting energy conservation.

On energy efficiency, the government has set the goal of raising energy efficiency by 2 percent for each of the next eight years.

The nationwide energy intensity in 2015 would be 20 percent lower than the levels in 2005 and that the energy intensity in 2025 would be 50 percent lower than the 2005 level.

Energy intensity is a measure of energy efficiency: the higher the intensity, lower the efficiency.

For clean energy, the government will generate cleaner energy with low or no carbon emission. It aims to lower the nationwide emission volume back to the year 2008 level some time between 2016 and 2020, and back to the year 2000 level by 2025.

Meanwhile, the percentage of low-carbon energy in the total energy generated in Taiwan would increase from 40 percent at present to 55 percent in 2025, according to the guidelines.