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Following are the opening remarks by the Secretary for the Environment, Mr Edward Yau, at the Conference on Climate Change - Hong Kong Engineers' Perspective today (October 18):
Chairman KK Choy, President Professor Chu, distinguished guests and engineers, ladies and gentlemen,
Good morning. I would like to thank the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers (HKIE) for inviting me to join this important and meaningful conference today on climate change, a subject close to our hearts.
I am very delighted to take this opportunity to share with you our ideas behind the proposed climate change strategy in transforming Hong Kong to become a low-carbon economy. This is a very bold policy commitment which the Hong Kong Government has pledged to take forward, not just walking alone ourselves but together with a wide cross-section of our community, for its success hinges on community consensus and collaboration.
Last month, the Government launched the consultation document on "Hong Kong's Climate Change Strategy and Action Agenda" for the coming decade. This is an important milestone to chart our way forward on the development of Hong Kong into a low-carbon city. We believe that as an affluent society, Hong Kong should pursue a low-carbon and sustainable model of development as an on-going process.
Climate Change Strategy
While adopting a proactive strategy in tackling climate change, we consider that our mitigation efforts have to be focused and directed at Hong Kong's emission characteristics. In addition, the strategy should seek to integrate the low-carbon notion with economic development, so that we can unleash the economic potential that is enfolded in a low-carbon lifestyle, green products and solutions, as well as services and projects on green buildings, energy supplies and the city's infrastructure. It will open up a window on green business opportunities and sharpen Hong Kong's competitive advantage, and this is commensurate with our status as an international city as well as a responsible global citizen.
During the process, we are also aware of the utmost importance of drawing together the participation and support from all sectors of the community. This will enable Hong Kong to move forward along the pathway of sustainable development, remain resilient to the risks and impacts brought by climate change, and to play a pivotal role as the greenest city not just in this part of the region but also in our nation as a whole.
Target
In the consultation document, we set for ourselves the target of bringing down our carbon intensity by 50-60% by 2020. This target matches well and in fact surpasses the 40-45% carbon intensity reduction pledged by the Central People's Government. The adoption of such a progressive target not only demonstrates Hong Kong's commitment to become a low-carbon city. It also reinforces our country's determination to face up to the challenge of combating climate change. This was also the stance our nation took in Copenhagen last year.
But this is by no means an easy target. Carbon intensity is the amount of greenhouse gas or carbon emissions per unit of gross domestic product. You will appreciate that given the mature state of Hong Kong's economy, our GDP does not grow at a fast rate as compared with that of the Mainland. This will mean that we have to work doubly hard to implement very concrete and forceful measures to curb our carbon emissions. The reduction target is in every way a tall order by international standards. However, we do believe this is a cause worth taking up. With the achievement of the target, Hong Kong's greenhouse gas emissions will see an absolute reduction of 19-33% in 10 yearsˇ¦ time. Our per capita emission will also drop from around 6 tonnes at present to an average of 3.6-4.5 tonnes per person.
Climate Change Action Agenda
The Government proposes to put forward a comprehensive action agenda for Hong Kong. Following international practice, there are two major fronts, that is to mitigate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and to adapt to the impacts of climate change in areas that are vulnerable.
The consultation document sets out a chain of carbon reduction initiatives. Among them are rigorous policy and regulatory measures to improve energy efficiency, for example in buildings. For example, expanding the scope and tightening the requirements of the Building Energy Codes, such that by the year 2020 major electrical equipment in all new commercial buildings will be up to 50% more energy efficient as compared with that of the building stock in 2005. It also covers areas which might bring improvement to building design, materials being used and energy management systems to be implemented in buildings. All these are close to the heart as well as the professional work of the engineers sitting here today.
There are also a variety of proposed measures for greening our road transport, including the promotion of electric vehicles and the use of biodiesel, as well as turning waste into energy. Many of these initiatives will also serve the purpose of enhancing the competitiveness of our economy.
In addition to demand-side measures, we must also take action to revamp our fuel mix for local electricity generation, given that electricity generation accounts for two-thirds of Hong Kong's total carbon emissions. That is why we are proposing to significantly suppress the use of coal for power generation down to a single digit, perhaps within the range of 3% to 5% in our fuel mix. In its place, we seek to maximise the use of natural gas to increase its share in the fuel mix to around 40%, and to substantially increase the share of non-fossil low-carbon fuels, such that use of renewable energy would make up 3-4% of the fuel mix, and the balance of about 50% of our energy supply will be met by imported nuclear energy. In seeking to improve the fuel mix, we will continue to uphold our energy policy objectives to ensure reliable, safe and efficient energy supplies at reasonable prices, while minimising the environmental impact caused by the production and use of energy.
Another major element of the action agenda set out in the consultation document is the identification of key vulnerable areas and the broad direction for addressing them. Currently, the inter-departmental committee comprising five policy bureaux and 17 government departments within the Government have been working closely together and they will step up efforts to draw up plans and adaptation measures to reduce the impacts of climate change. In the process, they will no doubt engage all concerned sectors in the community, including the engineers.
One further important point I would like to make is that we should not just look within Hong Kong in tackling the climate change challenge. The consultation document therefore sets out clearly our proposed framework for regional collaboration and for contributing to the global efforts to curb climate change.
Concluding Remarks
It is crucial for Hong Kong and the rest of the global community to sustain future development by pursuing a low-carbon pathway. Low carbon is no longer just an environmental policy consideration as it now cuts across the core policies of many other government bureaux and departments. Indeed, it is not only a government policy since it also calls for the commitment and participation of every sector of the community. For Hong Kong to achieve the proposed target, it will require better awareness among members of the public as well as swift and smart decisions by business leaders and professionals. It will also require immense efforts and whole-hearted support from all walks of life in Hong Kong, as well as some inevitable changes in our own lifestyles and behaviour.
In this regard, engineers play a crucially important role in Hong Kong's transition into a low-carbon economy. For a start, we need your expertise to provide low-carbon solutions for improving energy efficiency in our buildings, our consumer appliances and our transport systems. We need your professional advice to help manage our energy consumption in the community, businesses and government agencies. We also need your design skills and knowledge to build new infrastructure for making use of cleaner fuel to power our economy and to facilitate all these changes. And above all, we need your leadership and professional commitment to support the community in confronting the challenges and adverse impacts of climate change.
I look forward to hearing from all of you engineers your ideas and suggestions for taking forward Hong Kong's Climate Change Strategy and Action Agenda. I believe that, after this two-day conference, all participants will also contribute actively to making Hong Kong a better place for our future generations. I wish the Institution of Engineers and all participants a very successful conference. Thank you!
Ends/Monday, October 18, 2010
Issued at HKT 16:33
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