TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Council of Agriculture (COA) Minister Chen Chi-chung (陳吉仲) will lead the new Ministry of Agriculture, while National Chung Hsing University (NCHU) President Shieu Fuh-sheng (薛富盛) is the new environment minister, the government said Friday (July 28).

The COA upgrade to a full Cabinet ministry is scheduled for Tuesday (Aug. 1), while the existing Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) will turn into a ministry on Aug. 22, per CNA.

Shieu earned a materials science and engineering Ph.D. from Cornell University, and joined Taichung-based NCHU in 1993. The last EPA minister, Chang Tzi-chin (張子敬), will remain in the Cabinet as minister without portfolio.

The government emphasized the importance of the new ministry due to the threat of climate change, the policies of turning Taiwan into a nuclear-free homeland by 2025, and reaching net-zero emissions by 2050.