Submissions and Reports

The Chamber is pleased to note that a Legislative Council’s Bills Committee was formed on 16 October 2020 to again study a bill to implement a charging scheme for the purpose of reducing MSW following a previous attempt to do so during the previous legislative term. The Chamber believes that such a charging scheme would lay a useful foundation for Hong Kong to manage waste in a more responsible and effective manner.

The Chamber welcomes and appreciates opportunity to comment on measures to promote the use of electric vehicles (EVs) in Hong Kong. We believe Hong Kong should look to EVs as a viable means to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 and play to our advantages with respect to the city’s size, compactness and developed infrastructure in popularising the use of EVs.

The Chamber welcomes and supports efforts by the Government to progressively tighten the Air Quality Objectives. We believe air pollution remains very much a public health challenge that needs to be addressed through more ambitious targets and closer collaboration among businesses, civil society and policy makers.

The Chamber welcomes and supports efforts by the Council for Sustainable Development to engage the public on developing a long-term decarbonisation strategy for Hong Kong. We believe the exercise of reducing our carbon footprint will require extensive and concerted efforts across all segments of the community.

The Chamber welcomes the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited‘s efforts to improve the quality of ESG reporting through this consultation exercise. We believe that such enhancements should be supplemented by further investments in education and training to promote better understanding of the intentions behind and benefits of ESG reporting .

The Chamber welcomes and supports the Government’s introduction of a bill on 14 November 2018 to implement a charging scheme for the purpose of reducing municipal solid waste. As an advocate of the polluter-pays principle, we believe that such a charging scheme would contribute to the reduction of waste at source and in promoting a greener lifestyle.

The Chamber supports the establishment of a Green Finance Certification Scheme although it believes enhancements should be made to the existing framework.

As the International Maritime Organization has set a sulphur cap of 0.5% for shipping emissions by 2020, the Chamber urges the Government to establish Hong Kong a LNG-ready port that is capable of supporting the shipping industry as it makes the transition to cleaner fuels. Measures put forward include provision of the necessary infrastructure, sufficient trained personnel and relevant policies.

A clear and effective energy policy that is conducive to the reliability and stability of supplying power while also promoting affordability and environmental performance is vital. With regard to Government’s proposal to tighten emission allowances from 2022, a cost-benefit analysis would allow both consumers and businesses to make informed and meaningful assessments.

The Chamber has all along been supporting the Government’s initiative to embrace and adopt technology more widely to develop Hong Kong into a smart city. While the business sector would like to see prompt and concrete actions of a smart government, we therefore urge the Government to be more swift and resolute in breaking through the bureaucratic routine and take the lead to scale up the momentum immediately.