Speech by PSITI at One Earth Summit (English only) (with photo)
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Poman (Founder of One Earth Initiatives, Professor Poman Lo), distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,
Good afternoon, it is my honour to speak to you today about "AI for a Low-Carbon Future: Powering Hong Kong's Green and Digital Transition". To our friends and partners from abroad, I extend the warmest and most sincere welcome to Hong Kong. Your presence here today underscores a timeless truth: the ecosystems we share, the climate we depend on, and the digital systems shaping our destiny know no borders.
Today, we stand at the crossroads of two defining revolutions: the rapid rise of AI and the global imperative of decarbonisation. These twin forces must succeed hand-in-hand. We need green technology to mitigate the rising carbon footprint of AI, and we need AI to accelerate green technology and manage our increasingly complex global systems. Together, they will be a powerful alliance driving a resilient, low-carbon future.
For Hong Kong, the test of this alliance is threefold: does AI actually reduce carbon emissions? Does it benefit society at large? Does it protect the world we share? These questions shape the three interconnected pillars that we are building: capability, opportunity, and inclusion. Capability means building infrastructure to drive AI innovation sustainably. Opportunity means turning green technology into real economic and social value for our entrepreneurs and communities. Inclusion means ensuring that this growth is responsible, equitable and leaves no one behind. In the next few minutes, I will share how we are advancing on each of these fronts.
Let us begin with capability. Hong Kong is well positioned to become the data centre and computing power services hub for the Asia-Pacific region. Our total computing capacity has already reached 5 000 PFLOPS (peta-floating point operations per second), actively supporting research and applications in local large language models, advanced materials, synthetic biology and precision medicine. Looking ahead, the Sandy Ridge Data Facility Cluster in the Northern Metropolis will deliver an additional 180 000 PFLOPS by 2032.
At the same time, we have to ensure that our growth will not compromise our net‑zero goals. We are embedding energy efficiency in law and policy. Data centres must now undergo mandatory energy audits every five years and the relevant technical data on the energy efficiency of their building services installations must be disclosed. Furthermore, all new and retrofitted facilities are required to comply with the energy efficiency standards prescribed in the Code of Practice for Energy Efficiency of Building Services Installation. Building on this foundation, the Government will explore the Power Usage Effectiveness standards tailored to Hong Kong's data centres. We have commissioned a consultancy study to advise on energy usage efficiency improvement measures and develop industry guidelines by the end of this year, ensuring the healthy, sustainable growth of our computing sector.
To directly empower our scientific community, the Government will inject an additional $1 billion into the Artificial Intelligence Subsidy Scheme announced in our 2026 Policy Address. This funding will support the Hong Kong Artificial Intelligence Research and Development Institute in leveraging high-performance computing power to underpin frontier research, thereby accelerating innovative breakthroughs.
Looking ahead, the Government will soon commission a comprehensive computing power study to forecast Hong Kong's long-term demand. Guided by the core principle of "high efficiency computing power, stable electricity supply, low-carbon transition", this study will evaluate the economic impact and GDP (Gross Domestic Product) growth driven by computing infrastructure, and offer recommendations to optimise data centre operations and city-wide planning. The study is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2027.
Turning to opportunity, we are leveraging green technology as an engine of economic modernisation, providing structured support to ensure our brightest minds have the resources to succeed.
Our innovation and technology parks are already nurturing the next generation of green entrepreneurs. Since the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation repositioned InnoCentre as the GreenTech Hub in 2025, the green technology ecosystem of the Science Park community has brought together over 250 green technology enterprises and 1 600 professionals. Meanwhile, the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Park, which I have the honour to chair, commenced operations last December. Operating under the "one zone, two parks" framework, it bridges AI, data science and new energy developments across the two places. Within this single innovation zone, researchers, capital and data can move seamlessly, allowing green enterprises to draw talent from both sides of the boundary and take climate technology from initial concept to global commercialisation.
A case in point is Archireef Limited, an existing tenant at InnoCentre and a graduate of our Incubation Programme. Archireef collaborates with private sector businesses to restore marine ecosystems, which act as carbon sinks to address climate change. It has co-created the world's first artificial reef structure 3D-printed in terracotta, featuring a biomimicry adaptive design for coral restoration. The Reef Tiles have been proven to be four times more effective in keeping corals alive than conventional methods. Similarly, Open Ocean Engineering exemplifies the fusion of AI and sustainability. Its Clearbot is a swarm of trash-collecting robots that use AI vision to detect and remove waste from water bodies. This demonstrates how AI can directly restore cleaner, healthier aquatic ecosystems.
We are also bridging the gap between research and the market. Through our Innovation and Technology Fund, we have backed 314 environmental technology projects with more than $733 million, helping turn pioneering ideas into real-world climate solutions.
Finally, we must address inclusion because neither the digital nor the green transition can succeed if our people are left behind. For example, this summer, we have launched the "AI for All" Inclusive Programme to promote AI literacy and broader adoption, while cultivating a culture of responsible use. By widening access to these capabilities, we can ensure the benefits of AI can be shared across all segments of society.
Ladies and gentlemen, extreme weather, public health crises, and uneven development are challenges that demand we act together. AI should be a tool for solving our shared challenges, not a wall that divides us. By embracing open co-operation and shared benefit, we can move towards a future in which the smartest systems we build help our planet and people everywhere flourish together.
I wish today's event every success, and I hope you all enjoy a highly rewarding, productive and transformative exchange of ideas. Thank you.
Ends/Wednesday, October 28, 2026
Issued at HKT 16:28
Issued at HKT 16:28
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