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LettersClimate, air, waste: 3 fronts on which Hong Kong must do better
- Readers discuss the environmental challenges the city needs to address, and solar energy development
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The financial secretary expects the Hong Kong economy to have shrunk last year. This is not the only challenge Hong Kong faces. Climate change, air pollution and waste also threaten us.
Surrounded by the sea, Hong Kong is susceptible to more extreme weather due to worsening climate change. The government must strengthen flood control infrastructure to enhance climate resilience. It must also actively develop renewable energy locally and cooperate regionally to import clean energy and decarbonise the grid. In addition, carbon emissions need to be priced through carbon tax and carbon trading mechanisms to accelerate the low-carbon transition and develop Hong Kong into an international carbon market.
Given that 90 per cent of roadside emissions are from public and commercial vehicles, the government must accelerate the electrification of the transport grid and explore the development of hydrogen vehicles. Hong Kong can also consider the successful experience of Singapore in implementing electronic road pricing and introducing a vehicle quota system to curb private cars. In the longer run, Hong Kong needs to become a more accessible and bicycle-friendly city.
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