Environment | Carbon reduction efforts might require Guangdong’s help

Hong Kong’s top environment official has called for collaboration with regions in the Greater Bay Area, particularly Zhuhai, to fulfill its aim for a low-carbon strategy for 2050.

The call is in line with the development outline set up by the central government that listed its aim to have the mega-project – that incorporates nine Guangdong cities along with Hong Kong and Macau – to operate as a clean energy and low-carbon region.

It also adheres to similar long-term planning by Macau’s environmental authority.

Among the goals of the three territories is to progressively develop renewable energy sources including wind and solar power, as well as to explore ways to improve electricity transmission networks and gas pipelines from Guangdong to Hong Kong and Macau.

The Hong Kong government has pledged to cut its annual carbon emissions from about 6 tons per person to between 3.3 and 3.8 tons by 2030, according to the city’s environmental authority. That falls short of the target needed to meet the goals in the Paris Agreement, to which the People’s Republic of China is a signatory.

In Macau, data shows that the city’s fossil carbon dioxide emissions totaled 3,106,518 tons in 2016, a yearly increase of 7.19% compared to the year before.

According to the data, carbon dioxide emissions per capita in Macau are equivalent to 5.07 tons per person – based on the city’s population of over 612,000 in 2016.

The power industry remains the largest sector to produce carbon dioxide, which stood at 68.8% of total emissions, followed by other industrial combustion, which was 23.3% of overall carbon dioxide emissions.

According to the most recent information available on its website, the SAR’s greenhouse gas emissions in 2017 increased by 11.4% compared with 2016, mainly due to the 60% increase in local electricity production.

According to the Environmental Protection Bureau (DSPA)’s 2010-2020 plan, one of its major action plans is to increase the rate of clean energy utilization by optimizing energy structure.

It notes that in the medium-term, the government will “conduct studies on carbon emission reduction and low carbon development for Macau to help realize the low carbon development vision.”

It also mentioned in its long-term planning that the bureau aims to strengthen cooperation among Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau in respect of the clean production of enterprises, circular economy, environmental protection industries, and research and development of new and renewable energies.

Meanwhile, despite the ongoing social unrest in Hong Kong, the SAR’s Secretary for Environment, Wong Kam-sing, said that the city could tap into the resources of the neighboring cities to proactively combat climate change over the next three decades.

“Hong Kong needs [to examine the issue] with a broader perspective by looking into regional cooperation,” Wong told South China Morning Post.

“The sea territory is small in Hong Kong: only a tiny percentage of solar and wind energy can be generated from it. […] How about the waters south of Hong Kong? This belongs to Zhuhai. I think there is room for sharing and cooperation among cities in the Greater Bay Area under the [national] strategy,” he added.

The Times contacted DSPA to enquire about the bureau’s current clean energy goals and its further plans to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, but no reply was given by press time.