📋 Tender Overview
Following is a question by the Hon Adrian Ho and a written reply by the Secretary for Environment and Ecology Mr Tse Chinwan in the Legislative Council today June 18
Question
In October 2021 the Government announced Hong Kongs Climate Action Plan 2050 which aims to reduce Hong Kongs carbon emissions by half from the 2005 level before 2035 and outlines four major decarbonisation strategies namely netzero electricity generation energy saving and green buildings green transport and waste reduction In this connection will the Government inform this Council
1 whether it will duly adjust its green policies in response to Hong Kongs actual carbon emissions in recent years to accelerate the overall pace of decarbonisation in Hong Kong and thus achieve its carbon reduction targets as scheduled
2 of the respective performances of various government departments over the past five years in key carbon reduction measures such as energy saving emission reduction consumption and carbon emission reduction as well as green procurement whether government departments have set carbon reduction targets and timetables for the series of policy measures implemented in recent years including the establishment of the Green Technology and Finance Development Committee and the implementation of the Uncertificated Securities Market initiative
3 as there are views that the broad participation of businesses in decarbonisation efforts is vital for Hong Kong to achieve carbon neutrality how many businesses and organisations have as of May this year joined the Green Hong KongCarbon Audit campaign by signing the Carbon Reduction Charter and agreeing to undertake and implement activities in support of reducing greenhouse gas emissions whether it has assessed the effectiveness of the participating businesses and organisations in formulating and implementing carbon reduction measures
4 as it is learnt that the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited established the Hong Kong International Carbon Market Council and subsequently launched an international carbon marketplace Core Climate in 2022 whether Government is aware of the current operational status of both the Council and Core Climate as well as their respective effectiveness in promoting the implementation of decarbonisation measures among businesses in Hong Kong and
5 given that green transport is one of the Governments decarbonisation strategies which includes achieving zero vehicular emissions and zero carbon emissions in the transport sector before 2050 through promoting the electrification of vehicles and ceasing new registrations of fuelpropelled and hybrid private cars in or before 2035 whether the Government has assessed if the current progress of such efforts will enable the carbon reduction targets to be achieved on schedule
Reply
President
In consultation with the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau the reply to the question raised by the Hon Adrian Ho is as follows
1 The Government has proposed four major decarbonisation strategies in the Hong Kongs Climate Action Plan 2050 namely netzero electricity generation energy saving and green buildings green transport and waste reduction to lead Hong Kong to halve its carbon emissions from the 2005 level by 2035 with a view to achieving carbon neutrality before 2050 With our efforts in recent years in these four decarbonisation strategies Hong Kong is making steady progress towards the carbon reduction target of 2035
Hong Kongs total greenhouse gas GHG emissions have been on a downward trend after reaching its peak in 2014 With the gradual replacement of coalfired power generation by natural gas and zerocarbon energy the popularisation of electric vehicles the reduction of municipal solid waste disposal and the increased recovery and use of landfill gas for energy generation in Hong Kong the total GHG emissions in 2023 were reduced by about 20 per cent from the 2005 level and about a quarter from the peak in 2014 The per capita GHG emissions in 2023 was 458 tonnes which is a new low since 1990 It is nearly 30 per cent lower than those in 2005 and 2014 and is about a quarter of that of the United States and 60 per cent of that of the European Union
Combating climate change is a longterm task In line with the spirit of the Paris Agreement we will review the Hong Kongs Climate Action Plan 2050 about every five years to update the strategies and targets for decarbonisation and other climate actions and expect to release the review result in 2026
2 To enhance the performance of government departments in energy conservation and carbon emissions the Government has promulgated relevant internal circulars and guidelines to require departments to perform well in the area of environmental protection in their daily operations Specific measures include energy conservation adoption of renewable energy RE waste reduction and recycling installation of electric vehicle charging facilities water conservation and recycling procurement of green products and services etc with a view to reducing carbon emissions These government circulars and guidelines cover environmental targets for government buildings carbon emission management preparation of environmental reports by government departments as well as green procurement etc
The Government strives to improve the overall energy performance of government buildings and infrastructure by more than 6 per cent in 202425 compared to the 201819 baseline To this end the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department EMSD has requested all bureaux and departments BDs to provide information on the energy consumption and RE of government buildings and facilities annually and organised briefing sessions to discuss energy performance and provides technical advice on energysaving measures and planning of RE projects As at 202223 the Governments overall energy performance has improved by about 53 per cent While the data for 202324 i
