In global fight to slow climate change, Hong Kong is proving to be a laggard
Wendell Chan says that, set against the efforts of other cities to reduce carbon emissions and promote renewable energy, ahead of the UN climate change conference in Paris, Hong Kong is barely doing enough
This week, delegates representing countries from all over the world will convene in Paris to decide whether we will head towards a low-carbon future. The goal is to reach a legally binding pact to limit warming to below 2 degrees Celsius.
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Countries in a position to do so have submitted their emission reduction targets to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. As of writing, it had received 128 submissions representing 155 countries.
Hong Kong is a services-based economy. To use intensity as an indicator intended for industrial-based economies is inappropriate for a place that prides itself as ‘Asia’s world city’
Unfortunately, these pledges are far from sufficient to achieve the 2-degree target, according to the Climate Action Tracker, an independent science-based assessment of policies and actions.
Electricity generation accounted for about 70 per cent of total greenhouse gas emissions in Hong Kong in 2012. Replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy would be one of the most effective ways to reduce our emissions. Many cities and countries have already set ambitious targets for renewable energy development. Sadly, our government plans to supply only 1 per cent of our electricity demand through waste-to-energy efforts.
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The Paris conference has some suggestions on how subnational governments, like Hong Kong’s, can participate in a credible transition towards a low-carbon society. Specifically, the objectives should contain verifiable greenhouse gas reduction targets and targets to improve energy efficiency.
More than 6,000 European cities, provinces and regions have already pledged to exceed the 20 per cent greenhouse gas reduction target by 2020. Seventeen international cities, including New York and Copenhagen, have committed to an 80 per cent reduction by 2050. Vancouver has targeted using 100 per cent renewable energy. The question for us is, exactly how will Hong Kong contribute?