20 September 2019
Professor the Hon Arthur Li Kwok-cheung, GBM, GBS, JP Chairman Council for Sustainable Development c/o Sustainable Development Division Environment Bureau 46/F, Revenue Tower 5 Gloucester Road Wan Chai Hong Kong By Email and Post
Dear Arthur
Public Engagement on Long-term Decarbonisation Strategy
The Hong Kong General Chamber of (“HKGCC”) welcomes and supports efforts by the Council for Sustainable Development (“the Council”) to engage the public on developing a long-term decarbonisation strategy for Hong Kong.
Despite its small geographical size, Hong Kong is only the city of the 13,000 surveyed by the Norwegian University of Science and Technology to have the dubious honour of ranking in the top ten with the highest carbon footprint on an absolute and per capita basis. It is clear that concrete and decisive measures must be taken to reduce emissions. To that end, we are pleased to submit our suggestions on rethinking our practices and habits to enable us to live within our ecological means.
The exercise of reducing our carbon footprint will require extensive and concerted efforts across all segments of the community and we would welcome the opportunity to engage with the Council and the Government on taking forward plans in this regard.
Yours sincerely,
Shirley Yuen CEO
Encl.
Council for Sustainable Development Public Engagement (“PE’) on Long-term Decarbonisation Strategy
Response by the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce (“HKGCC)
Introduction
Focus Areas for This Response
Electricity Generation
In response to questions 1 and 2 set out in the PE document, HKGCC supports the Government’s policy of gradually phasing out the use of coal. We support increasing the use of gas and non-fossil fuels such as nuclear and Renewable Energy (“RE”) to achieve carbon targets already set in Hong Kong. Recognizing the growing consensus of the need to achieve net zero emissions by 2050, we urge the Administration to give serious consideration to the infrastructure and administrative processes required for Hong Kong to be powered by zero carbon electricity within this timeframe. When considering the long-term fuel mix for Hong Kong, the priority should be to remove the maximum amount of carbon from the grid while maintaining our existing high levels of reliability, security and availability of support and with full regard to affordability.
We believe the reliability of electricity supply is critical to support effective operations and the proper functioning of our city. Our power companies currently provide world-class supply reliability and any changes to electricity generation must ensure that this is not put in jeopardy. Energy costs are also important for business competitiveness, so changes should be made on a planned and phased basis so that the impact on electricity tariffs can be better managed. As such, the Government may need to provide financial support to smaller businesses and the most vulnerable in our society to alleviate the economic costs of transition.
[1] https://www.susdev.org.hk/download/pe_document_e.pdf
[2] https://www.climateready.gov.hk/files/pdf/2017_GHG_by_sector.pdf
[3] https://www.enb.gov.hk/sites/default/files/pdf/EnergySavingPlanEn.pdf
[4] https://www.chp.gov.hk/en/static/90017.html
[5] https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/aabd45
[6] https://www.susdev.org.hk/download/pe_document_e.pdf – page 20.
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