Following is the speech by the Acting Financial Secretary, Mr Michael Wong, at Greenway 2026 - Closing and Sharing of Business Recommendations today (June 23): 

Ambassador Rouse (Ambassador and Head of Office of the European Union to Hong Kong and Macao, Mr Harvey Rouse), Mr Hack (Chair of the European Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong, Mr Johannes Hack), Professor Wong (Chairman of Environment and Sustainability Committee of Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce, Professor Steve Wong), distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,

     I would like to start by thanking the European Union Office and the European Chamber of Commerce for co-organising this marvellous event. 

     We are excited to unveil the Greenway 2026 Industry Recommendations just presented to me. They provide a collaborative roadmap for our partnership on green transition. They also highlight the power of open exchange between Hong Kong and our international business partners, including the vibrant community of over 1 780 European companies in Hong Kong. 

     It is highly encouraging to see how the Green Way insights closely align with Hong Kong's approach. In the next few minutes, I would like to share with you how we are tackling the challenges involved through policies and new initiatives in four areas.

     Firstly, new sources of energy and their efficient use. We are transforming our fuel mix and phasing out coal. Specifically, for electricity generation, we will progressively increase the use of zero-carbon energy to about 60 per cent to 70 per cent by 2035, up from 25 per cent last year. And we aim to achieve the target of "net-zero electricity generation" by 2050.

     We are also working on hydrogen, which we see as a promising source of new energy. We believe hydrogen can help particularly to decarbonise heavy-duty vehicles. In this regard, we announced our strategy regarding hydrogen development back in June 2024, and are progressively establishing the relevant comprehensive safety standards and codes of practice. Currently, we are formulating a green and low-carbon hydrogen certification framework, and we aim to get it ready next year or even earlier. 
      
     Apart from hydrogen, we are working on sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and green maritime fuels. We have started building a SAF value chain in the Greater Bay Area, and we aim to achieve a 1 per cent to 2 per cent SAF usage for flights departing from Hong Kong by the year 2030. 

     In parallel, we are gearing up to develop Hong Kong into a pre-eminent green maritime fuel bunkering and trading centre. In 2025 alone, over 220 000 tonnes of green maritime fuels were bunkered in Hong Kong. This March, we performed our first green methanol bunkering operations at anchorage and at our container terminals. Both were highly successful. 

     Secondly, our work regarding waste reduction and the promotion of biodiversity. Our first modern waste-to-energy facility for treating municipal solid waste, I‧PARK 1, commenced its first phase of trial operation in December last year, and we will soon seek funding for the construction of I‧PARK 2. Furthermore, a recycling facility for EV (electric vehicle) batteries will commence operation in our EcoPark very soon.

     As regards biodiversity, we updated the relevant Strategy and Action Plan, the so-called BSAP (Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan), in December last year. It will help align with the relevant national and global frameworks well into the next decade.

     Thirdly - I think that was mentioned by Chairman Hack and Professor Wong - green tech and green finance. We see them as indispensable elements supporting our green transformation. We have established a HK$400 million Green Tech Fund. It has already approved 39 R&D (research and development) projects covering decarbonisation technologies ranging from hydrogen energy to advanced waste upcycling.

     As regards green finance, we will continue to leverage our strengths as an international financial centre to connect international capital with green projects. In 2025, the total green and sustainable debt issued in Hong Kong exceeded US$76 billion. Within this amount, the volume of green and sustainable bonds arranged in Hong Kong was about US$38 billion, and this accounted for about 40 per cent of the regional total, and we ranked first in the Asian market for eight consecutive years since 2018.

     My fourth and last sharing this afternoon relates to public education. Sustainable development cannot succeed without an environmentally conscious public. We have therefore included in our primary and secondary school curricula relevant content ranging from carbon neutrality to waste reduction. At the community level, we have recently launched a new campaign to let members of the public know how they can help reduce carbon through green living.

     Ladies and gentlemen, the European Union business community is a critically important partner for Hong Kong. We deeply value the European Union's pioneering contributions to green technologies and to the development of robust international standards. And I must thank our European partners again for bringing to Hong Kong their vision, their world-leading techs, and their environmentally friendly culture. Hong Kong has much to learn, and Hong Kong will do our part in contributing towards a more resilient, more sustainable world in collaboration with all like-minded partners in the European Union. Thank you all very much.

Ends/Tuesday, June 23, 2026
Issued at HKT 20:38

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