ABSTRACT
Ecological Modernization Theory distinguishes itself from a critical approach by suggesting fundamental and constructive roles that science, technology, capital and the state can play in the process of environmental improvements. Antipollution has awakened Taiwan's environmentalism since 1980, and it has continually been the major collective action pertaining to environmental protection. The development of environmentalism in Taiwan has considerably lagged behind the evolutionary thinking of environmentalism in Western societies. Taiwan's environmental awareness was not awakened until the 1970s, and then was limited to a small group of people, mainly from the intellectual class. Although Taiwan's environmentalism is rather underdeveloped in comparison with the West, the prevalence of sustainable development discourse and the adoption of environmental management and other technical and policy innovations seem to suggest that it is catching up with its counterparts in the West. There are many environmental measures implemented, and environmental information is gathered and presented by the Taiwanese government.
