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Why Joe Biden recommitting the US to the Paris climate accord should spark action in Hong Kong
- The US’ commitment is in line with a worldwide trend towards decabornisation that Hong Kong cannot ignore, especially with the mainland pledging to be carbon neutral by 2060
The treaty requires governments to provide specific decarbonisation plans and that they report on progress every five years, as well as ratchet up efforts. The next United Nations-sponsored climate meeting will be held in Glasgow in November, and countries are already announcing how they will strengthen their national climate plans.
The most ambitious smaller well-developed economies, Finland, Austria and Sweden, have pledged to achieve carbon neutrality by 2035, 2040 and 2045 respectively. Being front-runners, they will have a lot to teach the rest of the world on how to shape policy and prompt change in their citizens’ behaviour, given that achieving carbon neutrality has to be a society-wide effort.
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At the same time, many countries are speeding up their transition to renewable energy in the coming decade. For example, India announced a new target of 450 gigawatts installed capacity of renewable energy by 2030 from its current capacity of about 90 gigawatts.
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There is great interest in the government’s expected new climate plan to be released midyear. Two aspects are crucial – expanding Hong Kong’s renewable potential and importing more clean energy from the mainland.
Even if renewable energy is maximised, Hong Kong won’t have enough to power all its activities so importing electricity from the mainland will remain essential. The authorities have to work hard to buy non-fossil-fuel energy and ensure Hong Kong becomes highly energy efficient, which requires revamping all relevant laws and regulations. An ambitious announcement in this direction would be welcome.
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With the mainland being a major global player on decarbonisation, Hong Kong should be a step ahead. For example, the mainland is likely to pass a climate change law in the foreseeable future. Hong Kong should consider now what type of climate change law the city needs so it can dovetail with the mainland’s and assure local businesses that decarbonisation is a long-term policy.
Moreover, it is not too early for the financial secretary to dedicate resources to consider a carbon tax and emissions trading from a wide perspective. The mainland has been piloting such schemes for some years and is expected to launch a national emissions trading scheme later this year after final high-level approval.
The scheme could involve 10,000 emitters and 200 million tonnes of carbon emissions. The authorities in Hong Kong have never wanted to deal with emissions trading – it’s too complicated – but may no longer be able to avoid the subject.
They should also work with the government to envision how Hong Kong might benefit commercially from playing a role in the mainland’s emissions trading scheme. The worst thing for Hong Kong would be to not have any ideas. Despite Covid-19 concerns and highly polarised local politics, Hong Kong must not miss the decarbonisation wave sweeping the world.
Christine Loh, a former undersecretary for the environment, is an adjunct professor at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
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