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Following is the full text of a speech by the Secretary for the Environment, Mr Edward Yau, at a dinner reception co-hosted by Denmark Hong Kong Trade Association, Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (London) and Hong Kong Trade Development Council in Copenhagen on September 16 (Copenhagen time) (English only):
Reaching Beyond the City Boundary - the Case of Building a Green Hong Kong
Mr [Nil] Carlsen, Distinguished Guests,
Good evening. I am delighted to be back in the beautiful city of Copenhagen. I was counting my fingers on my way here. This is my second visit to Copenhagen in the past two years. Geographically, I think we all appreciate that Copenhagen and Hong Kong are not, exactly, so close in terms of geographical distance. The frequency of exchanges shows that we are, however, much closer to each other than we might think.
Of course, it is not exactly fair to compare this visit of mine with my last one. I was here in December 2009 as a member of our national team at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, or COP15. Much as the international community had hoped COP15 to deliver a global deal on combating climate change, the outcome of that meeting was far from successful. In fact, two years have gone by and now the world is still working towards a deal.
So, we continue to hope for the best outcome at the coming UN climate change meeting. But as nations continue to talk, the world does not just sit there and wait. Around the world, governments, businesses, NGOs and individuals are acting together to contain the damage done by climate change with concrete action. As we formulate and implement our action plans, one thing which is particularly promising – and I can say this as an "across the board" observation – is that instead of seeing the fight against climate change as a liability, we actually look at it as an opportunity. It is an opportunity for green growth, for more efficient use of energy and resources, and for a change of mindset toward sustainable living. This brings me to the purpose of this visit to Copenhagen. That is, to explore with you all the opportunities in building a green city.
Hong Kong's Green Agenda
First, let us take a quick look at where Hong Kong stands on green development. Many of you are familiar with Hong Kong as an international financial centre. In terms of market capitalisation, our stock market is the sixth largest in the world and the second largest in Asia. We are one of the largest banking centres in the world. And we provide one of the freest environments in the world for businesses to operate from. For 17 consecutive years, Hong Kong has been ranked by the Heritage Foundation as the world's freest economy.
What you may not have noticed is that our urban setting actually co-exists in harmony with a larger, surrounding green area. Hong Kong covers an area of just 1 104 square kilometres, of which over 40 per cent is designated as protected or country park areas. Thanks to our highly compact city layout and integrated planning, public transport provides 90 per cent of the daily commuting by our citizens and visitors. We certainly have challenges to deal with in our environmental agenda. But my challenges are your opportunities. Here are some of them.
Smarter Use of Energy
Hong Kong's per capita greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, at six tonnes per year, is just below the world average of seven tonnes. While we cannot rival Copenhagen, our GHG emissions are at the relatively low end compared with many developed economies. But we need to reduce them further. Last year, we proposed a climate change plan to reduce our GHG emissions by 19 per cent to 33 per cent. To do this, we need to critically examine the energy efficiency of the existing stock of 40 000 buildings, mostly high-rises, in the city and identify opportunities for raising the efficiency of new buildings.
As a measure to jump-start building owners' drive for energy efficiency, the Government offered a 42 million euros funding scheme as an incentive for owners to conduct energy-cum-carbon audits in the public areas of their buildings, followed, if they so choose, by enhancement works. The subsidies are in the form of a matching fund. Over 5 000 buildings have successfully applied for the funding so far. The works arising from the funding scheme have resulted in an electricity saving of 140 million kilowatt-hours of electricity, or an equivalent reduction of 100 000 tonnes of CO2. In the process, we generated new jobs almost equivalent to 50 000 man-months and created a new profession for energy and carbon auditors in Hong Kong, not to mention the business generated for equipment supplies.
The funding scheme is but one of the many initiatives we are undertaking to raise energy efficiency. Next year, our Building Energy Efficiency legislation will come into force to stipulate the energy efficiency standards of new buildings, as well as existing ones undergoing major renovation works. At the same time, the Hong Kong Green Building Council is developing Hong Kong's standard of building energy efficiency to accredit the top performers in the field. In addition, the concept of sustainability is finding its way into Hong Kong's major infrastructure developments. The iconic new Government headquarters building and the future West Kowloon Cultural District are two prominent examples. We are also investing in infrastructures such as the District Cooling System, a major communal cooling system for about 1.7 million square metres of public and private non-domestic air-conditioned floor in a new development area on the Hong Kong waterfront at Kai Tak.
This formula of policies, incentives and investments working together will generate new opportunities for services and equipment providers, bringing opportunities for the business sector. At the same time, products and services bring solutions for climate change.
Greening Our Vehicular Fleet
Buildings and power-use aside, another priority for us is to green our road transportation. This is a strategy that will help improve our air quality, as well as reduce our GHG emissions. Over the years, we have pursued this strategy by setting the standards for new cars in Hong Kong to reach the highest Euro standards available in the market and encouraging the use of greener cars. To deal with the existing fleet running on the roads of Hong Kong, incentives are being given to encourage the early replacement of the more polluting vehicles.
In addition, we have been pursuing a vigorous programme to introduce electric vehicles to Hong Kong. So far, we have attracted to our market some major brands of EVs, from the Japanese models iMiEV and Leaf, to Smart Electric Drive, and Tesla Roadster for private cars. More are coming on stream. This is no small achievement for our city, which does not house any production lines for vehicles, not to mention electric vehicles. We shall continue to green our road transportation system and expand the infrastructure in support of EVs. More recently, we have moved on to promoting the use of EVs in goods and passenger-carrying vehicles, with the launch of a 28 million euros funding scheme which pays the price difference between an EV model and its conventional fuel model when adopted by transport operators, or half the price of the greener vehicles, whichever is the greater. Our doors are open to car manufacturers and system support providers.
Turning Waste into Resource
Last but not least, waste. We have a waste treatment mechanism which is in an urgent need for upgrading. Our priority is to continue to promote waste reduction and raise our recycling rate, which currently stands at 52 per cent. It is also of pressing importance for us to modernise our waste treatment technologies, so that we can move away from our reliance on landfills to treat our waste. A Sludge Treatment Facility with a daily capacity of 2 000 tonnes will come into operation in 2013. This will be the world's largest facility for sludge treatment, with a project cost of 460 million euros. We are also in the process of planning an Integrated Waste Management Facility, with a daily handling capacity of 3 000 tonnes, and two organic waste treatment facilities. We shall aim to employ the world's latest technology with the highest emission standards in building such facilities.
Taking a Regional Perspective
Ladies and gentlemen, when you look at the Hong Kong market of green opportunities, I urge you to look beyond our 1 104 square kilometres. Like Copenhagen, Hong Kong is the metropolis of a bigger region which is ushering a growing appetite for green products, technologies and services. The Pearl River Delta area, which is comparable to a mid-sized European economy, itself presents a sizeable market for green industries. The national 12th five-year plan, which will guide the development of China for the period 2011-2015, has charted a clear path of sustainable development for the nation. For those of you who are keen to tap these market opportunities, Hong Kong offers the know-how, the market access and the platform for exchange.
The team at our Economic and Trade Office in London will be most happy to facilitate your decisions to operate businesses in Hong Kong. In addition, the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks also have an active presence in this part of the world. I hope you will continue to keep an interest in the thriving markets in Hong Kong and our region. The impact of environmental problems and climate change knows no geographical boundary. For that matter, we should not let our geographical distance block our way from bringing in the best technologies to our environmental and climate solutions.
In closing, let me express my sincere gratitude for your support and to the Denmark Hong Kong Trade Association for being a close partner of Hong Kong.
Thank you very much.
Ends/Saturday, September 17, 2011
Issued at HKT 09:47
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