Letters | Legco election: Hong Kong’s green future a priority for too few candidates

Only 16 responded to a Friends of the Earth survey on where candidates stand on environmental topics, despite Hong Kong’s 2050 carbon neutrality pledge

Hong Kong Legislative Council election 2021

Letters

Published: 6:00am, 17 Dec 2021

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How important is sustainable development to our future policymakers? The Legislative Council election is just a few days away, with 90 seats being contested by 153 candidates, but how green are they?

Over the past week, we surveyed the legislative candidates via email to try and find out where they stand on environmental topics from climate change to green finance. Only 16 bothered to respond and 10 did not even have an email address – we can see where priority lies for our candidates. Nevertheless, there were some findings.

The Hong Kong government has pledged to become carbon neutral by 2050, so it is promising to see wide support from responding candidates on clean energy and other climate policies.

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A less enthusiastic stance was taken on carbon pricing though, with around 30 per cent expressing a neutral view towards the policy.

On the surface, carbon pricing may seem like another tax, but it is intended to capture the externalities of carbon-emitting activities and shift the burden to those responsible, under a “polluter pays” principle. Also, tax credits and other revenue recycling mechanisms can help to ease the burden on poor households.

Carbon pricing has been implemented across 45 countries and 34 subnational jurisdictions today, representing 21.5 per cent of global greenhouse emissions. Among them is China, which launched its national emissions trading scheme in July for power sectors, with plans to cover other carbon-intensive industries – like petrochemicals, building materials and aviation – in the future.

Transport was another area where we saw more divisive views from candidates, particularly on vehicle quotas to tackle rising car numbers, which are contributing to clogged roads, slow traffic and unhealthy levels of roadside air pollution that consistently exceed the government’s air quality objectives.

Multiple international cities, such as Madrid, Oslo and Paris, have made great strides towards being “car-free” to combat worsening air pollution and congestion.

Sustainable development is core to Hong Kong’s liveability. It was disappointing to see such an anaemic response from our potential legislative councillors. We hope this apathy is not indicative of the coming Legislative Council.

We urge voters to cast their vote for the environment. Elect candidates who are committed to driving carbon neutrality, improving our air quality and promoting a circular economy and green finance. Elect those who will exercise their powers in environmental and climate policymaking effectively.

Wendell Chan, senior project officer, Friends of the Earth (HK)

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