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Supported by the German Federal Foreign Office, the City of Magdeburg, state capital of Sachsen-Anhalt in Germany, hosted the "Green Cities – Green Industries – The 2nd Magdeburg Conference 2013" from November 25 to 27. The conference, held at the City Council of Magdeburg, was attended by delegations from cities in Europe and Asia, offering a platform to foster co-operation, as well as exchange ideas and experience. Participants discussed a wide range of topics including metropolitan co-operation, urban development, water and waste management, environmental protection, innovation, renewable energies, new technology and business co-operation.
In his keynote presentation, the Director of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, Berlin (HKETO Berlin), Mr Ivan K B Lee, outlined the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government's (HKSARG) vision of creating a green city, "We want to build a city that is healthy and pleasant and in which the community enjoys a reliable and safe energy supply at reasonable prices, while improving energy efficiency, promoting energy conservation and minimising environmental impacts of energy production and use." Particular attention is paid to sustainability aspects whereby the community places a premium on sustaining its environment for both themselves and future generations.
The HKSARG is committed to turning Hong Kong into a greener and cleaner metropolis. Being a compact city of just over 1 100 square kilometres and 7 million population, Hong Kong has developed into one of the world's most vertical cities, with a high density of concrete high-rise buildings. The city has an excellent mass transport system, which is used by 90 per cent of its population in their daily commuting. Moreover, 40 per cent of the land is protected under country park law, providing habitat for flora and fauna as well as space for the Hong Kong people to take a break from city life.
The HKSARG has also launched specific programmes to make Hong Kong a greener city. In March 2013, the Environment Bureau of the HKSARG unveiled "A Clean Air Plan for Hong Kong", providing a detailed account of the air quality management system in Hong Kong. A total of 22 air quality improvement measures have been implemented targeting various major polluting sources, including increasing the percentage of local electricity generation by natural gas; requiring the deployment of low emission buses on routes serving busy commercial districts; and requiring ocean-going vessels to switch to cleaner fuels while berthing. The aim is to achieve the new air quality objectives largely by 2020 and thereby improving the environment and protecting public health. As combatting pollution can only be effective with the co-operarion of neighbouring regions, a new emission reduction plan up to 2020 has also been agreed between the HKSARG and the Guangdong Provincial Government to improve the air quality of the Pearl River Delta Region, in the heart of which Hong Kong is located.
To complement the green vision and environment-friendly policies, the HKSARG invests substantially in green economy. "The amount of government investment on environmental infrastructure has been increased from about EUR 2.8 billion in the past five years to about EUR 4.6 billion in the next five years," Mr Lee said. All these present potential business opportunities for German businesses, given that Europe, especially Germany, is a leading player in environmental services and technologies.
The Investment Promotion Unit of HKETO Berlin is also present at the Conference and presents the unique advantages of Hong Kong for foreign direct investment, especially in the green industries.
About HKETO Berlin
HKETO Berlin is the official HKSAR Government representative in commercial relations and other economic and trade matters in Germany as well as Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia and Switzerland.
Ends/Wednesday, November 27, 2013
Issued at HKT 23:48
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