LettersHong Kong’s budget must bet big on renewable energy and carbon trading

Name: China installs record number of solar panels on rooftops in race for carbon neutrality
Uploaded: 2022-02-22T06:30:21.000Z
Duration: 1 min 5 s
Description: China installs record number of solar panels on rooftops in race for carbon neutrality

As the financial secretary prepares to deliver the 2022-23 budget, readers call for financial measures that boost environmental goals, and suggest ways for the budget to tide Hong Kong through this tough time while keeping an eye on the future

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Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po speaks at a press conference about plans for the government to issue green bonds to investors on February 15. Chan will deliver Hong Kong’s 2022-23 budget tomorrow. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Letters

Published: 2:30pm, 22 Feb 2022

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Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po will deliver the 2022-23 budget tomorrow. Friends of the Earth (HK) hopes the government can implement forward-looking measures that allocate fiscal reserves effectively. In addition to promoting post-pandemic economic recovery and alleviating peoples’ suffering, there is a need to link financial and environmental policies to address the global climate threat and promote the sustainable development of Hong Kong.

The world is embracing renewable energy. The International Energy Agency expects global renewable energy capacity to increase by more than 60 per cent by 2026, compared to levels in 2020.

In particular, China’s renewable energy sector has been developing rapidly in recent years; the country’s largest national offshore wind farm, in Jiangsu, became fully operational last year. The Hong Kong government must seize the development opportunities in the Greater Bay Area, allocating resources and investing in cross-boundary renewable energy with the mainland.

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China installs record number of solar panels on rooftops in race for carbon neutrality

Research shows that, by the end of 2021, over 1,500 organisations around the world had implemented plans to divest from fossil fuels. These include government investment funds, pension funds and university funds, with assets as high as US$40 trillion under management. The Hong Kong government can stay in line with the world by taking steps to divest from fossil fuels, terminate subsidies for polluting energy and offer incentives to corporate and institutional investors.