Hong Kong Environment and Ecology Bureau: Hong Kong will focus on promoting green transition and innovation to seize the opportunities brought by the low-carbon economy.

The Hong Kong First Five-Year Plan and the Policy Address were released recently. On September 21, Secretary for Environment and Ecology Tse Chin-wan spoke on green transition and the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, stating that the authorities' work priorities for the next five years can be categorized as promoting "internal and external connectivity," jointly building the "Belt and Road," advancing green transition, strengthening ecological protection, enhancing disaster prevention, mitigation and relief capabilities, and promoting fisheries and food trade. Among the 22 major indicators set out in The Hong Kong First Five-Year Plan, five are binding indicators, of which the Environment and Ecology Bureau accounts for four. These four indicators set clear hard targets for Hong Kong in the next five years in promoting low-carbon green transition, energy transformation, and building Hong Kong into a more livable city with blue skies and clear seas. In promoting "internal and external connectivity," the Hong Kong government will continue to support green technology development through the HK$400 million Low-carbon Green Research Fund, leveraging Hong Kong's role as a green technology springboard to help the country's green technologies and products go global. In terms of hydrogen energy, the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department has participated in drafting national hydrogen energy standards, with the goal of helping these standards align with international ones. In jointly building the "Belt and Road," the authorities will launch the "Green Technology Bridgehead Scheme" in 2027, promoting green solutions and technologies through a display platform and helping export green solutions to "Belt and Road" countries. In October this year, the authorities will co-host the "Belt and Road" Green Innovation Conference with the Ministry of Ecology and Environment for the first time in Hong Kong. In implementing green transition, the Hong Kong government is fully advancing the reclamation works at Tseung Kwan O Area 132 to accommodate new strategic electricity facilities, aiming to increase zero-carbon electricity from about one-quarter at present to 60-70 percent by 2035, and achieve "net-zero electricity generation" by 2050. In terms of new energy, the Hong Kong government has successfully led a world-leading sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production base to locate in Dongguan, which will commence production before 2030. The authorities are planning to build Hong Kong's first SAF blending facility to complete the entire industry chain. In green transport, the Hong Kong government is vigorously promoting the popularization of electric vehicles. Hong Kong currently has more than 180,000 electric vehicles, and the entire charging system can support at least 270,000 electric vehicles. In the future, high-speed charging piles will form the backbone of the public charging network to facilitate vehicle owners. The authorities are also cooperating with the National Energy Administration to build Hong Kong's first ChaoJi charging technology demonstration station by 2027, aimed at showcasing technology compatible with both national and European charging standards. Regarding electric commercial vehicles, the Hong Kong government has established a working group to first explore the introduction of suitable models for public light buses and promote mobile charging Siasun Robot&Automation, which can provide more flexible and rapid energy replenishment solutions to drive the development of electric commercial vehicles. The Hong Kong government will also stop new registrations of fuel-propelled private cars by 2035 and can achieve zero vehicle emissions by 2050. The Environmental Protection Department will continue to optimize and expand the "Hong Kong Environmental Database" and apply AI and innovative technologies more widely in daily monitoring, enforcement, and licensing work. In promoting fisheries and food trade, the Hong Kong government will consolidate Hong Kong's role as a food import and export trade hub, facilitate more types of Hong Kong-produced food being exported to the mainland with customs clearance facilitation, and at the same time help mainland provinces and cities expand external sales of food through Hong Kong. The authorities are also conducting a public consultation on amending the Food Adulteration (Sweeteners) Regulations to align with international standards. In fisheries, the Hong Kong government will continue to provide financial and technical support for the industry to develop deep-sea aquaculture, with the goal of increasing Hong Kong's local marine fish aquaculture annual production to about 2,000 metric tons by 2031. The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department will join with the Fish Marketing Organization to replan the existing space of the Tai Po Fish Wholesale Market and add a fishery products processing center. In agriculture, the authorities are facilitating the industry in building Hong Kong's first multi-storey modern environmentally friendly pig farm in Sheung Shui, and continuing to advance the first phase of the second stage of the Agricultural Park development; the modern technology agricultural park established in a public-private collaboration model has successively leased land to farmers and will promote the development of more leisure fisheries and agriculture. The Hong Kong Environment and Ecology Bureau will continue to fully align with the national "15th Five-Year Plan" in accordance with The Hong Kong First Five-Year Plan and the Policy Address, advance Hong Kong's green transition, promote green innovation, and seize the opportunities brought by the low-carbon economy. In the future, it will continue to play the role of "super connector" and "super value-adder" linking the mainland and international markets, and strive to build a "Beautiful China" and "Beautiful Hong Kong."