A role at last

There is finally a really good role for the many Hong Kong people serving on mainland political bodies that will also serve Hong Kong directly. They can speak on the importance of nuclear safety for all.

The Hong Kong government's climate change strategy and action agenda released last month includes a proposal to change the city's fuel mix to increase nuclear power from the current 23 per cent to 50 per cent by 2020. This will mean buying a lot more nuclear power from Guangdong, which has a major nuclear expansion plan over the next decade.

In his policy address earlier this month, Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen re-emphasised the phasing-out of existing coal-fired power generation units in Hong Kong as a core part of the government's attempt to reduce carbon intensity by between 50 per cent and 60 per cent in 10 years compared with the 2005 level.

China is investing heavily in renewable power, such as hydro, solar and wind, as well as nuclear, because Beijing recognises burning ever more coal to feed its enormous energy appetite has a very major impact on contributing to global warming. Moreover, with its rising demand for energy, even China's substantial coal deposits will run out in a few decades. Thus, investing in other forms of power generation is critical to China's future. Cracking this nut provides the basis for continuous development.

The central government sees a place for nuclear power within China's total energy mix. But nuclear and renewable power are more expensive than coal. So, many state-of-the-art reactors are being planned and built mainly along the better-developed and more affluent coastal areas like Guangdong, which are able to pay more for energy than poorer regions.

Some green groups oppose the Hong Kong government's proposal to import more nuclear power from across the border. They point out the danger of radiation leakage and also the difficulty of handling nuclear waste. Understandably, they challenge the government to look at renewable options, as well as work a lot harder on energy efficiency, especially with regard to buildings.

There is no argument about energy efficiency. Hong Kong can do a lot more to use electricity more efficiently but it doesn't mean we can just dismiss the nuclear option. Without going into a pro- or anti-nuclear argument, the fact is Guangdong is expanding its nuclear capabilities, and Hong Kong has a clear interest in its management and safety issues, irrespective of whether it will buy more nuclear power from the mainland.

This is where we can use the help of the many Hong Kong people who have been appointed to the national, Guangdong provincial or even Guangdong county-level peoples' congresses and peoples' political consultative conferences. They can influence important decisions in China's nuclear expansion programme, which can help to ensure that sustained attention is paid to good management and best-practice waste disposal.

With Guangdong building more reactors, the people of Guangdong and Hong Kong have a common interest to ensure the new plants are built properly and managed well. The existing French-built plant in Daya Bay is reputed to be well-managed, which has probably given Hong Kong people some confidence in the nuclear power the city has been buying since the mid-1990s.

Beijing will likely allow Hong Kong capital to invest in new reactors across the border. Thus, as investors, Hong Kong will also have influence on management and governance. However, there is a real role for the political appointees because they can speak beyond the interest of investors to reflect the public interest of people in Guangdong and Hong Kong.

They have the ability to follow the building and operation phases of the nuclear expansion programme. They can speak about the need for a transparent safety protocol to be developed to protect public safety and health so that the region becomes a world leader in nuclear safety management.

Christine Loh Kung-wai is chief executive of the think tank Civic Exchange