Rich Hong Kong is failing to keep up with worldwide movement to slow climate change
John Sayer says wealthy, capable Hong Kong has no excuse for being such a laggard in cutting greenhouse gas emissions
In many countries, enlightened local government leaders are not waiting for their national politicians to take the lead. They are already going ahead with city-based, regional or subnational initiatives on greenhouse gas reductions and green living. Rather than wrangling about who does what and who pays what, city governments are learning from one another and sharing ideas on technology and community programmes.
We have a government which seems to be waiting for others to move first before it is ready to decide or announce what it can do
There were more than 450 city mayors and a total of over 1,000 local government officials in Paris. They showed off a range of inspiring examples of what they are already doing to contribute towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
During the climate conference, tours were organised to green initiatives around Paris, including new work on green buildings, zero-emission transport schemes and new green districts. These programmes demonstrate that if thought is given to green transport facilities, waste recycling, water management and decentralised energy generation at the design stage of urban renewal or new town projects, then the costs of these vital green features are a small proportion of the overall project costs.
Many governments, businesses and other organisations accept that we need to achieve zero, or near-zero, carbon emissions by 2050 if we are to reverse the trend of dangerous global warming. To that end, 17 leading cities, including London, Sydney and Yokohama, have committed to ambitious targets and are putting in place programmes to change energy generation and consumption.
Hong Kong is not part of this parade of advanced world cities. For many of us, the city is noticeable only by its absence of either inspiring ideas or meaningful targets.