Letters | Climate, air, waste: 3 fronts on which Hong Kong must do better

Readers discuss the environmental challenges the city needs to address, and solar energy development

Reading Time:3 minutes

Runners and cyclists hit the Tseung Kwan O-Lam Tin Tunnel and the Cross Bay Link on opening day on December 11, 2022. To tackle air pollution, Hong Kong needs to become a more accessible and bicycle-friendly city. Photo: Elson Li

Published: 11:30am, 19 Jan 2023

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The financial secretary expects the Hong Kong economy to have shrunk last year. This is not the only challenge Hong Kong faces. Climate change, air pollution and waste also threaten us.

Surrounded by the sea, Hong Kong is susceptible to more extreme weather due to worsening climate change. The government must strengthen flood control infrastructure to enhance climate resilience. It must also actively develop renewable energy locally and cooperate regionally to import clean energy and decarbonise the grid. In addition, carbon emissions need to be priced through carbon tax and carbon trading mechanisms to accelerate the low-carbon transition and develop Hong Kong into an international carbon market.

Given that 90 per cent of roadside emissions are from public and commercial vehicles, the government must accelerate the electrification of the transport grid and explore the development of hydrogen vehicles. Hong Kong can also consider the successful experience of Singapore in implementing electronic road pricing and introducing a vehicle quota system to curb private cars. In the longer run, Hong Kong needs to become a more accessible and bicycle-friendly city.

Hong Kong’s per capita waste disposal rate hit 1.53kg per day in 2021, tying for a record high with the rate in 2018. This reflects the failure of the government’s waste reduction policy.

The government must implement municipal solid waste charging by this year to spur waste reduction at source with an economic tool. Instead of relying on end-of-pipe treatment like incineration, it needs to invest more resources in upgrading and transforming the recycling industry to turn waste into treasure. The government should also expand the scope of producer responsibility and speed up legislation on single-use plastics to protect the natural environment.