Getting Hongkongers to fully embrace green living polices will be extremely difficult, at least according to one university professor.
Hong Kong Baptist University professor of environmental geography Wong Koon-kwai said going green was generally more expensive, and local citizens would tend to choose the cheaper option, especially given the current economic conditions.
'Hong Kong is a consumer-dominated society and changing ... attitudes will be difficult ... Most people have trouble sacrificing personal gains for a greener environment,' he said.
Wong made the statement following the release of a January poll yesterday. The poll found 86 per cent of 707 respondents said they were primarily concerned with making money, while 77 per cent were focused on a materialistic lifestyle.
The survey also found 34.8 per cent of respondents were ambivalent about public service announcements about green living policies, while 20.5 per cent thought they were useless.
Hongkongers have adopted what Wong called 'low-level green behaviour', such as bringing their own bags and practising household recycling. But he said they were yet to adopt habits such as eating organic food, walking to reduce pollution and buying products with less packaging.
