On May 10, on his blog , former US vice-president Al Gore wrote, "Yesterday, for the first time in human history, concentrations of carbon dioxide, the primary global warming pollutant, hit 400 parts per million in our planet's atmosphere."
He said that every day we poured an additional 90 million tonnes "of global warming pollution into the sky as if it were an open sewer".
Gore also said that according to top climate scientist Jim Hansen, "the accumulated man-made global warming pollution in the atmosphere now traps enough extra heat energy each day to equal the energy that would be released by 400,000 Hiroshima-scale atomic bombs exploding every single day".
It is now time to introduce carbon emission-saving laws in Hong Kong. I would put forward four proposals which could be implemented easily and immediately to help limit Hong Kong's contribution of carbon dioxide into our atmosphere.
Firstly, we should follow Paris and introduce a 1am light curfew for advertising hoardings and empty offices. The move will cut carbon dioxide emissions in Paris by 250,000 tonnes a year and save €17 million (HK$171 million). Also, Hong Kong's street lighting should be solar powered.
Secondly, cancel the Shek Kwu Chau incineration technology proposed by the Environmental Protection Department and adopt a gasification plant which can output energy stored as syngas or another biofuel. It reduces fossil fuel consumption and there is no need to connect to the local grid.
