‘More than half’ of Hongkongers can accept 5 per cent rise in power bills to support renewable energy
Study also finds most respondents unsatisfied with government’s energy goal for 2030
More than half of Hongkongers would accept a 5 per cent increase in their electricity bills to support renewable energy, according to findings from a survey released on Friday.
The study by conservation group WWF-Hong Kong found that 60 per cent of 721 respondents were open to paying at least HK$20 (US$2.60) a month on top of their current spending to support the local development of renewable energy.
This was equivalent to a 5.2 per cent rise in the average monthly electricity bill of HK$380, the group said.
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Over 10 per cent of respondents were willing to contribute more than HK$100 per month, while another 20 per cent agreed to pay anything between HK$10 and HK$20, the survey found.
From last December to January, the group conducted street interviews with people across Hong Kong. It also found that many were unsatisfied with the government’s renewable energy goal for 2030.
Last January, in light of the Paris Agreement, the Hong Kong government promised to boost the percentage of the city’s renewable energy to between 3 and 4 per cent from the current 1 per cent. A total of 63 per cent of respondents found the goal “insufficient” or “very insufficient,” according to the survey.
Statistics from the World Bank show that the percentage of renewable energy from power consumption was 18 per cent globally in 2014. The figure was 17 per cent in China and South Korea, 8.9 in the United States, and 5.5 in Japan.