Read the full research: https://civic-exchange.org/report/the-road-to-2050-can-hong-kong-achieve-its-climate-goals/
Speakers: (appearance order):
Mr. Lawrence Iu – Executive Director of Civic Exchange
Ms. Wing Tsang – Assistant Manager of Civic Exchange
Ms. Grace Kwok – Chairman and Executive Director of Allied Environmental Consultants
Mr. Victor Kwong – Vice Chairman of Sustainability Professionals Association
Ms. Karen Ho – Head of Corporate and Community Sustainability of WWF
Ms. Agnes K Y Tai – Director of Great Glory Investment Corporation
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Since the publication of the Climate Action Plan 2050 (CAP2050) in 2021, Hong Kong has made considerable strides to tackle its emissions and reach carbon neutrality before 2050. However, with the review of CAP2050 coming up, a critical question arises: does CAP2050 align with the Paris Agreement’s targets of 1.5°C or 2°C , and which policies need to be reinforced to continue the pace of decarbonisation?
For the past two decades, Hong Kong has achieved its energy and emission targets, such as the energy intensity target from the Energy Saving Plan and CAP2030+’s absolute emission target. Considering Hong Kong’s previous emission trajectory, it is possible for Hong Kong to reach its mid-term target of 50% before 2035, using 2005 as the baseline year. Based on our calculations, there is an emission gap of 1.4% between projected and current emissions in 2035, placing the Hong Kong Government in a desirable position to reach its target, if all climate policies are implemented.
Hong Kong has demonstrated itself to be on par with other leading Asian cities in their efforts to combat climate change, with Hong Kong being the first Chinese city to implement a carbon neutrality target, having lower per capita emissions than other regional peers, and achieving the most emission reductions between Singapore, Seoul, and Tokyo. However, there is still much room for Hong Kong to enhance its climate action. To ensure greater comparability with other leading Asian cities, Hong Kong should revisit and advance its mid-term target to 2030 and better align itself with the Nation’s midterm target timeframe to facilitate easier communication with the international community.
From our analysis, it was found that the implementation of Hong Kong’s current policies is better aligned with the 2°C target, with the city’s projected carbon budget for the 1.5°C goal expected to run out by 2029. Moreover, it was projected that due to current policies, particularly the energy transition efforts of phasing out coal, expanding natural gas usage and increased reliance on zero-carbon energy, the emissions would drastically decline until 2035. However, progress beyond 2035 was found to stagnate as the most immediate decarbonisation strategies would be largely exhausted. Thus, urgent adjustments to current policies are required for sustained deep decarbonisation.
To maintain Hong Kong’s pace of decarbonisation, the Government must consider a more holistic approach to its climate action and incorporate other sectors, such as waste, climate adaptation, and biodiversity protection to ensure long-term success. The report recommends the following actions for the Government to consider:
1. Renewing the mid-term 2030 climate target to reduce the emission gap to better align with the Paris Agreement’s target of 1.5°C.
2. Supporting a more holistic, cross-sectoral climate action target to include sectors such as waste management, biodiversity welfare, and climate adaptation.
3. Formulating a post-2035 strategy, focusing on energy storage technologies, CCUS, hydrogen and other renewable energy sources.
4. Formulating different sectoral targets to close the gap between policy and implementation, such as phasing out coal-fired power plants, increasing the usage of renewable energy, incorporating other zero-carbon energy sources into the electric grid, enhancing the electrification of commercial vehicles, taxis, and goods vehicles, and improving the energy efficiency of buildings.
5. Increasing the transparency and accountability of the climate targets, establishing a science-based foundation to decarbonise.
6. Enhance public participation and education, by establishing public consultations, increasing climate education programmes, encouraging a low-carbon lifestyle, and changing public mentality on energy usage.
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00:30 Opening Speech
10:24 Presentation of the Research
22:48 Panel Discussion
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