Taipei, Aug. 14 (CNA) Kinmen County has opened a museum to highlight its achievements in reducing carbon emissions and is hoping that the facility can inspire visitors during their stay in the island county.

County officials said they hope the museum, which cost NT$50 million (US$1.59 million) to build and was opened on Aug. 1, can be the first stop for visitors so they can get a better sense of how Kinmen is working toward becoming a zero-carbon island.

The museum not only details different aspects of Kinmen's low-carbon approach -- including its use of green buildings, electric cars and LED lights -- but also provides interactive displays for people to have fun learning about the environment, they said.

The idea of making Kinmen an exemplary low-carbon island in Taiwan came out of the 2009 National Energy Conference.

The objective was to create two low-carbon communities in each city and county in Taiwan within two years, four low-carbon cities and two low-carbon islands by 2014, and four low-carbon living circles in northern, central, southern and eastern Taiwan by 2020.

The government and private sector also earmarked over NT$4.3 billion in 2013 for a six-year project to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in Kinmen.

The plan is to gradually turn Kinmen into an island with zero carbon emissions by 2030, according to the Cabinet-level Environmental Protection Administration (EPA).

(By Lee Hsin-Yin)ENDITEM/ls