Hong Kong will never have viable green industries if there is insufficient will to clean up. The chief executive is expected to name a number of new industries that could help sustain Hong Kong's long-term growth in his policy address in a fortnight. One of them is expected to be environmental industries. Their viability is going to depend on the degree of government determination to fight pollution. In other words, the harder and faster the administration pushes environmental policies, the more likely it will be that Hong Kong develops impressive green businesses.
The environment is a broad sector, ranging from energy generation to air and water pollution control, transport, buildings, food production, waste treatment, climate change and ecological systems. If the government sets tight standards, companies will have to work hard to comply. This will lead to improved environmental management through skilful decision-making to maximise emissions reduction and minimise the related costs.
It will also stimulate the development or use of new technologies locally. The more challenging the work, the better people will get at it. And the more work there is, the more people will seek jobs in the sector. This is how knowledge and experience are built. Once there is a critical mass of work and talent, competence will grow. Investment in the sector will also increase.
By tightening environmental performance standards and requirements, such as air quality standards, polluters will have to invest management time and money in cleaning up. They will need to engage skilled professionals such as consultants and engineers but also financiers, certification specialists and environmental auditors to help implement clean-up plans. Take, for example, air quality: the tighter the new standards are set, the harder polluters will have to work and the greater their investment will be in cleaning up.
Why is the government so reluctant to be the first in the world to adopt the World Health Organisation's latest recommended standards, published in 2006? Indeed, officials keep repeating that they don't dispute that the new standards reflect the latest health science - but, since no country has yet adopted them in full, Hong Kong shouldn't be the first.
There are two reasons why the government is reluctant. First, costs. Businesses don't want to cut into their profits. For example, by pushing bus companies to upgrade their fleets, operators will want to pass the costs on to passengers. Officials fear a public backlash so an easier option may be to do nothing - although, on this occasion, officials are willing to consider using public funds to expedite fleet renewal.