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Following is the speech by the Chief Executive, Mr C Y Leung, at the 4th Nobel Laureates Symposium on Global Sustainability this morning (April 23):
Ronnie, Professor Schellnhuber, Nobel Laureates, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,
Good morning. Before I move on to talk about sustainability, let me just share with you my personal experience in the explosive speed by which cities on the Mainland of China - and that's the part of China that's outside of Hong Kong and Taiwan - have been urbanised. China, this side of 1949, when the socialist People's Republic was founded sold its first piece of land in 1988. I have some personal experience in that because I actually wrote the tender document for the sale, and the building, the first modern building on the Mainland of China, was built in 1992. So most of the buildings that you see in the 660 cities on the Mainland of China, and the many towns and villages, are not older than 23 years. And that's how quick the speed is. And this speed applies to many, many other cities in other countries in Asia. So that's by way of a quick response to what the professor just said. Amazing speed of urbanisation, creating all kinds of opportunities, challenges and possibly problems, if it were not careful.
But let me formally welcome you all to this symposium, and to our visitors, welcome to Hong Kong.
Few words have more impact nowadays than "sustainability". And there is no shortage of ways to consider the concept behind the word. One of the broadest and most popular definitions of sustainability speaks of development that meets our needs today without compromising the needs of tomorrow, and that includes tomorrow's generations.
Hong Kong is well known for its attention to financial sustainability, and for good reason. We are a leading international financial centre. We are also one of the world's greatest trading economies. And the future of Hong Kong depends on sustaining our advantages in these areas. If we are to maintain our hard-won place in the global economy, if we are to ensure that our community of some 7 million people continues to reap the benefits Hong Kong can offer, we must balance our short- and long-term growth. And we must do so without jeopardising the economic health of our future generations.
That said, we are no less committed to safeguarding our environmental advantages, to ensuring that the natural bounty we have been blessed with remains undiminished.
Hong Kong attaches great importance to combating climate change, and we are putting in place the policies and programmes to do so effectively. Indeed, we have set a target to reduce carbon intensity by up to 60 per cent within five years, compared to 2005 levels. This is, of course, easier said than realised. But I am pleased to say that we are on track to achieving it. We are doing so largely by implementing measures on both the demand and supply sides of electricity consumption, which accounts for some 70 per cent of our carbon emissions.
On the demand side, we are working hard to promote energy efficiency and conservation, alongside many others in the international community. We have tightened the energy standards of our buildings, which account for more than 90 per cent of our electricity consumption. Noting that carbon audits are an effective means of understanding our carbon footprint and identifying appropriate carbon-reduction options, we have completed a three-year, energy-and-carbon-audit programme covering 120 government premises and public facilities.
We have also launched a carbon-footprint repository to help listed companies disclose their carbon-management experience and practices to the public. And, with funding support from the Environment and Conservation Fund, a CarbonSmart Programme was initiated three years ago in 2012. It provides matching funds for each private company to conduct energy-and-carbon audits. To date, more than 200 applications have been endorsed and the total approved incentive amounts to nearly US$450,000. A good start, and we will continue to develop the programme.
"Don't do as I do, do as I say." I'm sure we've all heard it and seen it in practice. But for my Government, we are determined to do as well as say. To lead by example. Over the past decade, we have achieved a 15 per cent saving in electricity consumption in our government buildings. And we have recently bumped up that target - pledging to save another 5 per cent over the coming five years.
To enhance energy-saving performance and green-building measures, we will conduct energy audits in major government buildings. We are also working with public and private organisations to expand our low-carbon and liveable built environment - to reduce, in short, Hong Kong's overall electricity demand.
On the energy-supply side, we have banned the construction of new coal-fired power plants since 1997. To achieve our 2020 target of carbon-intensity reduction, we will increase the proportion of natural gas in our fuel mix from the current 20 per cent to 50 per cent by 2020. The proportion of coal in our fuel mix will be reduced significantly.
We are also targeting our road transport, promoting the use of clean fuels for motor vehicles, as well as turning waste into energy.
There is a need, as well, to enhance our city's resilience to climate change. To that end, we are developing infrastructural facilities, together with the necessary institutional arrangements, to address the possible impact of climate change. We have comprehensive response plans in place to deal with extreme weather events and natural disasters. We have made strategic improvements to our sewage and drainage systems, launched scientific monitoring and research programmes, and established forecasting and warning systems to monitor changes to our ecology and our water resources.
Climate change, of course, is a global issue. And we have long been working with the international community in this regard. Hong Kong is a member of the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group and is now on its Steering Committee. We have also taken part in United Nations' climate-change conferences as part of China's delegation. To respond to climate change regionally, Hong Kong and the neighbouring Guangdong Province have set up a Joint Liaison Group on Combating Climate Change. The group's mandate includes promoting scientific research and technology development.
In Hong Kong, an Inter-departmental Working Group on Climate Change co-ordinates and directs the Government's efforts on climate change.
In short, we are working hard, and well, but we have much yet to do, much yet to learn. Which is why I'm so pleased that Hong Kong is hosting this symposium, and that several senior members of the Hong Kong SAR Government are participating.
My thanks to the Asia Society Hong Kong Center and the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research for making this important global event happen. I hope that we will continue our dialogue with you long after this symposium winds down.
Hong Kong prides itself on being a world city, on our openness, on our close ties with the rest of China and the rest of the world. We are committed to working with them in the global battle against climate change.
Like everyone here today, I hope that the climate negotiations at COP21 in Paris will result in an agreement we can all rally around. Rest assured that Hong Kong will do its part, today and tomorrow.
I wish you all a rewarding symposium. I have no doubt that our visitors will enjoy Hong Kong. You may have already noticed that that we do not have VAT refund counters in our airport, and that's just because we do not have VAT or any form of sales tax in Hong Kong. I know the Hong Kong dollar has appreciated somewhat against some of your home currencies, but shopping is still good value in Hong Kong.
Thank you.
Ends/Thursday, April 23, 2015
Issued at HKT 12:01
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