Climate Blog
2023-10-27
CCIL's response to the 2023 Policy Address: Hong Kong needs bolder climate action
On October 25, Chief Executive John Lee delivered his second Policy Address. CarbonCare InnoLab (CCIL) is concerned whether the proposed measures can effectively respond to climate disasters and mitigate climate change impacts. However, reviewing the ongoing climate disasters this year, including extreme heatwaves, super typhoons and record rainfalls, reminds us that Hong Kong's current efforts on climate change mitigation and adaptation are still far from enough.
The HKSAR government released the “Hong Kong Climate Action Plan 2050” in 2021, setting goals of halving carbon emissions by 2035 and achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. Meanwhile, the 2015 Paris Agreement adopted by the United Nations also requires signatories to halve emissions by 2030 in order to keep global warming within 1.5°C. Earlier this year, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) also warned that if countries fail to significantly reduce emissions, global temperatures will exceed 1.5°C in 2030-2035. More recently, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) predicted global temperatures could breach 1.5°C as early as 2027, when climate disasters will become even more frequent and irreversible.
The upcoming 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) this December has a key agenda of global stocktake, to review countries' climate action progress since the Paris Agreement. Therefore, in addition to central government representatives, many subnational and city governments will also actively participate in COP28 to share experiences and outcomes of climate action with other cities. As the China’s central government declared in 2016 that the Paris Agreement applies to Hong Kong SAR, Hong Kong has a responsibility and obligation to fulfil the requirements of the Paris Agreement. As such, CCIL makes an attempt to examine the climate mitigation and adaptation policies in the Policy Address to assess if Hong Kong is moving towards these goals.
Climate Mitigation
1. Raising emissions reduction targets: CCIL’s Paris Watch Hong Kong Climate Action report pointed out that Hong Kong still lacks a credible path to carbon neutrality by 2050. It recommended adopting intermediate emissions reduction targets every 5 years towards 2050, and raising the 2030 target in line with the Paris Agreement to halving emissions. The government should regularly publish progress reports to further institutionalize climate accountability. CCIL believes the Policy Address should account for Hong Kong’s decarbonisation trajectory. At the same time, conducting carbon audits of all major policies and procurements proposed in the Address can mainstream climate policy assessments and provide indispensable evaluations of climate impacts and progress towards carbon neutrality goals.
2. Overall energy policy: This year's Policy Address devoted more words to promoting the use of new energy transport, including electric vehicles and hydrogen-powered vehicles, and proposed formulating a Hong Kong hydrogen development blueprint. However, CCIL believes the various new energy transport development measures fail to clearly demonstrate how Hong Kong will achieve the 2030 halving of emissions and the 2050 carbon neutrality targets. Moreover, electric vehicles and hydrogen fuel are still mainly powered and produced by fossil fuels presently, and cannot change the long-term fossil fuel dependence in our energy mix. Only by drastically increasing renewable energy targets for solar and wind power, and aggressively developing related industries, can Hong Kong's energy transition be fully accelerated.
3. Floating solar PV system: CCIL welcomes the Policy Address proposal to install floating solar PV systems at the Plover Cove reservoir, but its scale remains tiny compared to Hong Kong's enormous untapped renewable energy potential. If fully utilized, solar energy could meet around 20% of Hong Kong's energy needs. CCIL believes the Policy Address should expand the scale of floating solar PV systems, drastically increase the proportion of local renewable energy, in order to drive change in Hong Kong's energy structure.
4. Building energy efficiency: The Policy Address also proposed measures to gradually improve building energy efficiency in Hong Kong, which is an encouraging step. Expanding regulatory scope and requiring mandatory disclosure of energy audit reports can help reduce emissions. However, the pace of these measures is still too slow and cannot match the scale and speed of decarbonisation required. If Hong Kong wants to drastically reduce carbon emissions from buildings, the Policy Address must propose bolder regulatory requirements, such as requiring deep energy retrofits for all existing buildings, and providing financial support measures for building owners. As buildings account for over 90% of Hong Kong's electricity usage, measures must be strengthened to transition buildings towards zero carbon emission regulatory requirements.
Climate Adaptation
1. Emergency management: The Policy Address proposals to strengthen emergency management through enhanced cross-departmental coordination and regional cooperation with Greater Bay Area are constructive measures. The Policy Address also proposed re-assessing infrastructure risks and improving resilience, which can help Hong Kong better withstand increasingly frequent disasters and quickly recover from them.
2. Vulnerable groups under climate change: However, the Policy Address did not touch on how vulnerable communities can adapt to climate change. CCIL hopes that in addition to improved emergency management, the government should also proactively address the real needs of the most vulnerable groups in extreme weather, to make climate adaptation plans more comprehensive and inclusive. Low income families living in subdivided flats, the elderly, the disabled and outdoor workers are disproportionately bearing the brunt of climate disasters, but lack adequate support to deal with them. As CCIL's published Hong Kong Just Transition report pointed out, providing support to vulnerable communities is crucial for climate adaptation work to adhere to climate justice principles. The government must engage in in-depth dialogues with vulnerable groups on extreme weather situations, and formulate responsive strategies tailored to their needs.
Climate Finance
1. Climate fiscal policy: The Policy Address still has not disclosed the expenditure plans and details of the HK$24 billion climate budget announced in 2021, making it difficult to assess whether public fiscal resources are being used effectively on climate change measures. CCIL urges the government to announce the related plans and details as soon as possible, to strengthen public confidence in public finances supporting climate policies.
2. Green finance and greenwashing risks: The Policy Address proposed to 'appropriately' adopt major international sustainable financial reporting standards. CCIL believes that in order to truly consolidate Hong Kong's leadership in green finance, the Policy Address should advocate full alignment with major international sustainable financial disclosure standards, reduce greenwashing risks, and propel Hong Kong towards a leading green finance hub. As an Asian and international financial centre, Hong Kong has the capability to exemplify global best practices in sustainable finance.
Climate Governance
1. Climate-resilient economic transition: The various measures proposed in the Policy Address are still premised on promoting traditional economic growth, without adequately incorporating climate impact assessments and mitigation into policies and planning. Currently, most measures are based on individual sectoral considerations, while ignoring overall societal decarbonisation progress. CCIL urges the government to articulate a vision in the Policy Address for steering Hong Kong towards carbon neutrality by 2050 and a climate-resilient, net-zero city. Regularly publishing progress on emissions reduction indicators can strengthen transparency and accountability.
2. Improving institutional climate governance: The Policy Address did not respond to CCIL’s call to upgrade the Climate Change and Carbon Neutrality Office to a Climate Change and Carbon Neutrality Steering Committee Secretariat with cross-departmental coordination functions. Expanding the mandate, budget and coordination capabilities of this coordinating body is crucial for effectively directing and aligning climate policies and actions across government departments.
In summary, CCIL hopes the government will formulate more proactive and resolute policies on climate mitigation, adaptation, finance and governance, to accelerate Hong Kong's transition towards a sustainable, net-zero and climate-resilient society based on climate justice. Through government-community coordination, science-based and climate justice approaches, Hong Kong has the capability to take on a leadership role in global climate action and as a green finance hub, to safeguard the long-term sustainable development of our city.
References:
1. CarbonCare InnoLab (CCIL)’s Submission to the 2023 Policy Address Public Consultation
2. Policy Recommendations for the 2023 HKSAR Policy Address Consultation on Green and Climate Finance
3. Hong Kong Just Transition Report
4. Paris Watch Hong Kong Climate Action Report