Following is the English translation of the opening remarks by the Secretary for Environment and Ecology, Mr Tse Chin-wan, on environment and ecology at the special meeting of the Legislative Council Finance Committee today (April 9):
      
     Thank you, President and Honourable Members.
      
     As the Financial Secretary stated in the Budget, "Development of green industries is a major international trend and key to addressing global climate change." To align with our country's dual carbon targets, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government strives to halve Hong Kong's carbon emissions before 2035 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2050. After years of effort, carbon emissions in Hong Kong peaked in 2014. In 2023, Hong Kong's carbon emissions have decreased by about a quarter compared to the peak level, and per capita carbon emissions have also dropped by nearly 30 per cent from 2014 levels, approximately one-quarter of that of the United States and 60 per cent of that of the European Union.
      
     Innovative technology can bring new industries and business models to Hong Kong, fostering economic diversification and developing new quality productive forces. Thirty-three research and development projects have been approved by the Green Tech Fund, involving a total grant of about $147 million. The projects cut across a wide array of subjects, such as production and storage of hydrogen fuel, and technology of turning waste into resources. With the support of these measures, we will leverage Hong Kong's distinctive advantages of enjoying strong support of the motherland and being closely connected to the world to develop Hong Kong into a demonstration base for green technologies, helping our country go global and attract foreign investment.
      
     As for new-energy transport, the Government announced in December last year the Green Transformation Roadmap of Public Buses and Taxis, and reserved $470 million to subsidise franchised bus operators to procure about 600 electric buses, as well as $135 million to subsidise taxi owners to purchase 3 000 electric taxis. Following the announcement of the $300 million fast charger incentive scheme in the 2024 Policy Address, the scheme is planned to be launched in the middle of this year to subsidise the private sector to install an additional 3 000 fast chargers, thereby providing support to an additional 160 000 electric vehicles. This would further expand the charging infrastructure. In addition, as part of the implementation of the Strategy of Hydrogen Development in Hong Kong, the Funding Scheme to Trial of Hydrogen Fuel Cell Heavy Vehicles also started accepting applications in December 2024. We will also introduce into the Legislative Council a bill to amend the Gas Safety Ordinance within the second quarter of this year to regulate the use of hydrogen as fuel.
      
     As regards the promotion of waste reduction and recycling, the current-term Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government has put in an unparalleled level of efforts in promoting waste reduction at source, turning around the rising trend of the disposal amount of municipal solid waste (MSW) in recent years. Since 2021, the average disposal of MSW has continued to decrease for three consecutive years under the current-term Government, with the daily amount of MSW disposed of at landfills decreasing by a total of 7.5 per cent from 11 358 tonnes in 2021 to 10 510 tonnes in 2024. To continuously enhance the community recycling network, the Government will allocate an additional $180 million to increase the number of residential food waste smart bins or food waste collection facilities across Hong Kong to 1 600 within this year. Moreover, to turn waste into resources, the Government recently submitted an amendment bill to the Legislative Council last Wednesday (April 2) to establish a common legislative framework for producer responsibility schemes (PRSs). We will extend PRSs to different products gradually in the light of the actual situation.
      
     Regarding waste to energy, Hong Kong is building its first waste-to-energy (WtE) facility, I·PARK1, for treating MSW, which is expected to commence operation this year. We are also pressing ahead with the development of the second WtE facility, I·PARK2, for which an open tender was launched in December last year. With an expected MSW treatment capacity of 6 000 tonnes per day, I·PARK2 will become one of the largest advanced WtE facilities in Asia upon completion. I·PARK1 together with I·PARK2 will be able to treat 9 000 tonnes of MSW per day, marking Hong Kong's progress towards achieving "zero landfill".
      
     On the promotion of energy saving and green buildings, we submitted an amendment bill for the Building Energy Efficiency Ordinance to the Legislative Council on March 26 to strengthen our building energy efficiency management regime. Upon the Legislative Council's passage, it is estimated that an additional 500 million kilowatt-hours of electricity, equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of about 150 000 three-person households, will be saved in 2035 when the proposed amendments take full effect. Furthermore, we are reviewing the scale and mode of delivery of district cooling systems in new development areas, such as Hung Shui Kiu/Ha Tsuen and San Tin Technopole, to tie in with the development of the area with greater cost-effectiveness. We expect to report the review results to the Panel on Environmental Affairs in this April.
      
     On nature conservation, we officially established the North Lantau Marine Park and the Long Valley Nature Park in November last year, and plan to launch the new Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan this year to strengthen ecological safeguarding. We will commence the construction of the Sam Po Shue Wetland Conservation Park in the Northern Metropolis in two years' time at the earliest. The Park will be five times larger than the existing Hong Kong Wetland Park, and will enrich outdoor ecological education and recreation experiences, as well as promote the modernisation of aquaculture industry. We will also continue to enhance the attractiveness of Hong Kong's countryside, including the Po Pin Chau Viewing Platform in the Sai Kung East Country Park and the Lin Ma Hang Lead Mine Cave Revitalisation Project in the Robin's Nest Country Park, which were opened to the public at the end of last year. The first Countryside Harvest Festival: Kuk Po "Sound, Sight, Taste Fusion" Tour was also held from January to February this year, attracting over 12 000 participants.
      
     My colleagues and I are happy to listen to Members' views and respond to questions.

Ends/Wednesday, April 9, 2025
Issued at HKT 19:34

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