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Following is the speech by the Chief Executive, Mr Donald Tsang, at the luncheon for Boao Forum Asia Annual Conference 2008 today (April 12):
Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,
Thank you for this opportunity to speak to you today about Hong Kong's future, in the context of sustainable development and this year's forum focus on Green Asia.
What I share with you is Hong Kong's experience. It is by no means an example of anybody, but just to show you what we had been doing and the challenges we have met and the challenges we have to meet.
If you asked people around the world to describe Hong Kong, I guess that many would see it as a concrete jungle - crowded and bustling, with hundreds of high-rise buildings jutting into the sky, and with a night vista that is more neon light than moonlight. Well, that's only part of the story, the superficial aspect of Hong Kong, which advertisers and journalists prefer to portray.
Hong Kong is more jungle than concrete - much more jungle actually. About 40 per cent of our 1100 square kilometre territory is protected country park. But because of our hilly terrain, another 30 per cent of Hong Kong is rural and green belt area that can't be built on, or is low-density village development. So, there is quite a lot of green behind the golden glass facades and glimmering signage that many people see in the tourist brochures.
By necessity and design, Hong Kong has developed as a vertical metropolis, with a verdant backdrop. Many people in Hong Kong live in high-rise buildings. Most people don't have a large, sprawling home with a garden. We understand, accept and have adapted to this high-density living environment. Many of us relish it.
But, there's a quid pro quo. That is, we must all have equal access to the space, and peace, and greenness that our Country Parks offer. Hong Kong people jealously protect these areas - our green lungs - that have been put aside for the enjoyment and use of all people in the city. It's also why we've planted 20 million trees in Hong Kong over the past decade. This is an important aspect of Hong Kong that has helped us to sustain our high-density development model over the past four decades.
Another way has been to concentrate development in what we call New Towns. These are dotted around Hong Kong and are akin to satellite cities, with populations ranging from about 150,000 to just over half a million. Almost half of our population lives in the New Towns. These self-contained communities are connected to the major commercial districts, and each other, by an efficient rail transport system. This is supplemented by the usual assortment of other public transport options such as buses, taxis and ferries. On Hong Kong Island we even have an electric tram system that can trace its pedigree back to the beginning of the 20th Century, and still carries more than 1.5 million passengers a week.
Little wonder, then, that public transport in Hong Kong accounts for more than 90% of the 12 million passenger trips made daily in our city. And because public transport is so good, our car ownership rate is among the lowest in developed economies - only 80 vehicles for every 1,000 inhabitants, compared to 180 in Singapore, 550 in UK, and 840 in US.
It's also a large part of why Hong Kong's greenhouse gas emissions are low compared to other major cities in the world. In 2005, that translated to about 6.5 tonnes per capita, compared to 24 tonnes for the US, 11 tonnes for the UK and Japan, and 9 tonnes for Singapore.
So, the way in which Hong Kong's cityscape has developed - and the way in which our society has evolved within that cityscape - is a good example of sustainable development as it applies to the efficient use of resources: of land resources, of transport infrastructure, of government revenue, of energy, of human capital.
But, there's more to sustainable development than devising efficient uses for the land on which to build the apartments that provide the housing for our population. It's also about balancing the social, economic and environmental needs of society. It's about changing policies and mindsets. It's about hard choices. Basically, it's about survival.
And, what might have worked for a city establishing its credentials as a global financial centre and trade entrepot for China over the past three decades, might not necessarily work for a city that wants to take its place among the elite league of global financial centres in the next decade.
And what might work for us, might not work for others. To sustain development, it must pertain to your own particular circumstances - that is, you make the most of what you've got. And, it must be development that your society and economy can attain - that is, you can afford it and your goals are reachable.
Sustainable development is also a relentless process that requires constant assessment and adjustment. If we look at the definitions of the word 'sustain', it can mean a number of things: to support; to keep alive; to keep going continuously; to endure without giving way; to confirm or uphold the validity of something.
For a small and externally oriented economy such as Hong Kong - competing for talent, investment and relevance in a globalised world - sustainable development is about 'all of the above'.
Hong Kong is predominantly a services economy - more than 90 per cent of our GDP is services. So, our future depends on how well we can keep adding value to the services we provide to the world, to our own country, to our own citizens.
Since 1997, Hong Kong is also part of a new political reality - we are again an integral, but special, part of China. Economic inter-dependence and co-operation grows by the day, much to our mutual advantage. At the same time, we have maintained our distinct identity and strengths as Asia's world city - our legal system, our free and unfettered press, our level playing field for business, a clean, efficient administration, low taxes and the free movement of goods and capital.
This is what has attracted international business to Hong Kong for decades and has helped build our stunning skyline. But, will it be enough to keep international business in Hong Kong say 10, or 20 or 30 years down the track? And will it be enough to attract large Mainland companies that will want to explore the global market?
I would say, 'No', it's not enough. I would say that we must do more. And I'm here to tell you today that we will do more.
Improving the environment sits at the top of my policy agenda. If we want to compete for talent and brainpower, if we want to retain our home-grown human capital, if we want to develop our services sector, then providing a clean and green environment is vital.
This is crucial for Hong Kong because we face the very real prospect of an ageing society - less people working, less people paying tax, less productivity, but more people expecting the high standards of health care and public services.
So, we need new and younger blood from the Mainland and abroad to sustain our economic vitality and creativity. We have in recent years adjusted our immigration policies to attract more talented people to Hong Kong, as well as more external students. We want them to make Hong Kong their home - but we know that we must offer them a high quality of life to make that commitment.
Let's start with air quality. Sustainable growth in Hong Kong and the adjoining Pearl River Delta won't be possible unless we do more to clean up our air. From 1990 to 2006, we have managed to cut emissions of four key pollutants - sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, respirable suspended particles and volatile organic compounds - by between 32 and 53 per cent. Vehicle emission controls, which embrace the best practices in the EU and California, have also helped reduce average air pollutant concentration levels at roadsides.
Despite these good results, Hong Kong's visibility has deteriorated in recent years. This is mainly due to photochemical smog caused by emissions from power plants, factories and vehicles in the Pearl River Delta Region as a whole.
This underscores the fact that air pollution recognises no geographical boundaries. At the same time, we recognise that many factories in the PRD contributing to this pollution are owned by Hong Kong interests. We are equally guilty. That is why we are providing financial and technical support to Hong Kong industries to help them upgrade and modernise their production techniques to make them more efficient and less polluting.
We are also working very closely with Guangdong authorities to tackle this problem with a regional air quality programme. We have set ambitious emission reduction targets for the four pollutants mentioned earlier. With concerted efforts we hope to reduce these emissions by between 20 and 55 per cent by 2010, with 1997 as the baseline.
Hong Kong and Guangdong have already created an economic role model that has helped to shape the course of China's economic development. We now share the same vision to become the cleanest, greenest region in China. And we hope to lead the way in our country, with our actions, for a more sustainable form of development.
Back in Hong Kong, we are working on several fronts to improve the environment.
Power generation is our largest source of local emissions - since 1997, we have banned the construction of new coal-fired power stations in favour of cleaner gas-fired units. We have capped the amount of pollutants that power plants are allowed to emit. And, we have linked the two power companies' rates of return to their environmental performance. A higher rate of return will be given to power generation facilities using renewable energy. In other words, the power companies' future profitability will hinge on how clean their operations are.
We are also working hand-in-hand with the public to promote energy conservation. This will help alleviate air pollution and reduce greenhouse emissions. We are working on legislation to implement a mandatory Energy Efficiency Labelling Scheme covering room air-conditioners, refrigerators and compact fluorescent lamps in the first phase.
We have also introduced a raft of measures to reduce emissions from transport and industrial operations. These include EU-standard vehicle emission and fuel standards; retrofitting all pre-Euro diesel vehicles with emission reduction devices; one-off grants to replace their old diesel vehicles with Euro IV models; tax incentives for environment-friendly private cars; registration tax concessions for purchase of Euro V standard commercial vehicles; and mandatory use of ultra-low sulphur diesel for commercial processes.
Looking ahead, we are reviewing Hong Kong's Air Quality Objectives with reference to the latest guidelines published by the World Health Organisation. The review will recommend a comprehensive long-term action plan to achieve the new Air Quality Objectives.
Another way to help clean the air and improve the living environment is through greening, which is also an important form of carbon sequestration. As I mentioned earlier, we have planted more than 20 million trees over the past decade and we are going to plant more. Greening works continue throughout the urban area. And we are looking to introduce even jungle to our concrete with green roofing initiatives in the city and industrial areas, encouraging planting on rooftops.
We have also actively promoted sustainable construction. Since 2005, all public works projects have adopted energy efficient features and renewable energy technologies where practicable. New government buildings are designed in accordance with Building Energy Codes. As a result, we have been able to save about 10 million kilowatt hours of electricity per annum, the equivalent to about 7,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions. We've also been actively promoting the use of recycled materials, with about one million tonnes of recycled aggregate used in public works projects over the past six years.
On the international stage, Hong Kong is also doing its bit to tackle climate change. For example, we have pledged to meet the recent APEC agreement to cut our energy intensity by 25 per cent between 2005 and 2030. And, we joined the C40 Large Cities Climate Leadership Group in October 2007. London, Tokyo, New York, Beijing, Shanghai and Sydney are amongst the participating cities. We look forward to useful exchanges and collaboration with these and other cities in the Group to tackle this global issue.
Apart from the various environmental and greening initiatives, we also know that people want us to do more to protect built heritage and historical sites. This is about protecting and revitalising parts of our community that give Hong Kong its special features and character. For example, we are making available Government-owned historical buildings for renovation and adaptive re-use by non-profit organisations. Rather than have these buildings lie idle or be demolished we want to bring them back to life. By doing so, we can help these groups carry out their work, as well as add a new lively urban feature to the districts where these buildings are located. In other words, it's about sustaining the usefulness of these buildings in a new way.
Ladies and gentlemen, Hong Kong has flourished as an international city that is open to the world. But we also know that many other cities in Asia are becoming more open, more developed and more competitive. The scramble for talent is going to become even more intense as China continues to open up and reform her enormous market.
Hong Kong has an excellent business environment, a superb location and unrivalled potential. Low taxes, world-class infrastructure, global connectivity, excellent human capital have all been central to our success so far. But, this will not be enough to secure future prosperity. Our citizens and residents expect more, particularly in terms of quality of life. Economic growth and environmental protection now have a symbiotic relationship - they need each other, and in turn sustain each other.
The green agenda is no longer something that is imported or foisted upon Asian countries or cities. It is an essential element in the ongoing success of cities such as Hong Kong, and of greater economic groupings such as the Pearl River Delta.
Hong Kong is committed to building a sustainable future and to ensuring that our future generations can continue to thrive in a clean, green, creative and welcoming environment worthy of our positioning as Asia's world city.
Thank you very much.
Ends/Saturday, April 12, 2008
Issued at HKT 15:26
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