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Towards A Low Carbon Era

Ms Anissa Wong, JPMs Anissa Wong, JPPermanent Secretary for the EnvironmentPermanent Secretary for the Environment

The British Chamber of Commerce in Hong KongThe British Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong

Construction Industry GroupConstruction Industry Group

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Our Changing ClimateIncreasing Trend in Average Global Surface Temperature

Rising Trend in Average Sea Level

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Impacts on Hong KongObserved Climate Changes in Hong Kong from the last century to 2009

Climatic Variables Observed Change per decade

Annual mean temperature Increasing by 0.12 C

Mean diurnal range Decreasing by 0.24 C

Hot nights (min temperature 28 C) in Jun-Aug

Increasing by 3.5 nights

Cold days(min temperature 12 C) in Dec-Feb

Decreasing by 2.3 days

Annual rainfall Increasing by 51 mm

Thunderstorm days Increasing by 1.8 days

Heavy rain days (hourly rainfall > 30 mm)

Increasing by 0.4 days

Mean sea level (Victoria Harbour) Rising by 26 mm

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Actions Required for a Low Carbon Era

• Global– International agreement

• National– China’s national plan

• Local– Hong Kong’s Climate Change Strategy and Action

Agenda

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Vision and Opportunities in the Green Pearl River Delta (PRD) Region

• Vision : transform the PRD into a low-carbon, high technology and low pollution cluster of cities

• Opportunities : low carbon infrastructure, energy efficient buildings, cleaner energy applications

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Hong Kong’s Climate Change Strategy and Action Agenda

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With the achievement of the targets： Hong Kong’s annual greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions

will be reduced from 42 million tonnes in 2005 to 28-34 million tonnes in 2020, representing an absolute reduction

of 19-33%.

Per capita emission will drop from 6.2 tonnes to 3.6 – 4.5

tonnes, representing a reduction of 27-42%.

Hong Kong’s Target (2020)

Carbon intensity reduction

50-60%

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GHG Emissions in Hong Kong

Our Emissions in 2008 :42 million tonnes CO2 equivalent

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Climate Change Action Agenda - carbon mitigating measures

• Maximising Energy Efficiency (esp. in buildings)

• Greening Road Transport

• Promoting use of Clean Fuel for Motor Vehicles

• Turning Waste to Energy

• Revamping Fuel mix for Electricity Generation

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Opportunities and Challenges for Construction Industry

Opportunities:• Increasing demand for energy efficient buildings

• New construction technology• New construction materials• New approach to design buildings

• Continued investment in low carbon infrastructure• Railways, district cooling systems, waste-to-energy facilities

Challenges:• A relatively short period of time• Costs / Benefits distribution• Acceptance of clients

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District Cooling System at the Kai Tak Development

Cooling capacity :284 MW cooling energy

Air-conditioned floor area :1.73 million square metres

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Sludge Treatment FacilityTreatment Capacity:2000 tonnes per day

Feature – Education Centre & Community Facilities etc

Commissioning Date : 2013

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Key Vulnerable Areas

• Biodiversity and nature conservation• Built environment and infrastructure• Business and industry• Energy supply• Financial services• Food resources• Human health• Water resources

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Framework of Adaptation Options

• Monitoring

• Institutional Strengthening and

Capacity Building

• Disaster Management and

Emergency Planning

• Research and Investigation

• Education and Public Awareness

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Policy Address 2010-2011

• Proposed fuel mix for power generation by 2020– natural gas about 40%, – coal no more than 10%, – renewable energy about 3-4%, – imported nuclear energy about 50%

• Having zero emission franchised buses is the ultimate policy objective– To assist testing hybrid buses or other greener buses– To assist retrofitting old buses with devices to reduce emissions– To designate pilot low-emission zones for buses

• Promoting green buildings– To raise building energy efficiency standards– To require developers to provide environmental and energy consumption

information of buildings for the reference of potential users.

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Climate Leadership GroupC40 Workshop

• 5 – 6 November 2010

• Over 500 participants

• 21 C40 and affiliate cities, and 16 Mainland cities confirmed participation

• Centres on :Built environmentGreen transportation

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Thank you!