Peng Chi-ming
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Peng Chi-ming | |
|---|---|
彭啓明 | |
 Peng in 2024 | |
| 2nd Minister of Environment | |
| Assumed office 20 May 2024 | |
| Prime Minister | Cho Jung-tai |
| Preceded by | Shieu Fuh-sheng |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 27 May 1970 Taoyuan, Taiwan |
| Education | National Central University (BS, MS, PhD) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Atmospheric science |
| Thesis | A study of stratiform clouds in northern Taiwan: Chemical and microphysical properties and their applications in regional air pollution and climate change (1999) |
Peng Chi-ming (Chinese: 彭啓明; Wade–Giles: Peng2 Chi3-ming2; born 27 May 1970) is a Taiwanese meteorologist who is currently serving as Minister of Environment.
After earning his doctorate in atmospheric science from National Central University, he founded Taiwan's first weather service company in 2003 and is credited with drafting the country's first weather insurance policy.
Peng was born in Guanyin, Taoyuan, to a Hakka Chinese family.[1] He moved around frequently due to his father's job. He graduated from Cheng Kung Senior High School in Taipei.[2]
From 1988 to 1999, Peng attended National Central University (NCU), earning a Bachelor of Science (B.S.), a Master of Science (M.S.), and a Ph.D., all in atmospheric science.[3] His doctoral dissertation was titled, "A study of stratiform clouds in northern Taiwan: Chemical and microphysical properties and their applications in regional air pollution and climate change" (北台灣冬季層狀雲之研究:化學與微物理特性及其在區域大氣污染與區域氣候變化之應用).[4] In 2011, he was named an outstanding alumnus of NCU.[5]
Early career
In 2003, Peng founded the company WeatherRisk Explore and served as its general manager.[3][5] The company was Taiwan's first weather company.[6] Peng's work earned him the nickname, "Weatherman Supreme".[7]
Peng also advocated for weather insurance as a product, serving as weather advisor for Central Insurance (中央產物保險). He is credited with drafting Taiwan's first weather insurance policy,[8] which was approved by the Ministry of Finance in 2004.[5] The rainfall policy was written for whale watching tour operators in Yilan and was also later sold to Taiwan's professional baseball league for the grand final being held in Kaohsiung.[7][9]
In 2015, Peng worked with Australian company Weatherzone to create a lightning alert service provider Shandian. Instead of using the lightning detection system provided by Taiwan's Central Weather Bureau or Taipower, Shandian built its own technology with American company Earth Networks to provide faster data and redundancy.[8]
As general manager of WeatherRisk, Peng served in an expert capacity and attended international conferences such as World Meteorological Organization (WMO) as a civic observer. In 2019, after attending a WMO meeting in Geneva earlier in the week, Peng's accreditation was abruptly canceled, and he was blocked from joining the World Meteorological Congress, reportedly due to Chinese pressure.[10]
Peng operated a popular Facebook page about weather forecasts.[6] Prior to his appointment as Minister of Environment in 2024, Peng had attended 11 United Nations Climate Change Conferences as an observer.[11]