Decarbonising Hong Kong is a moral imperative in climate change fight

Hong Kong has the power plants in place to decarbonise our energy supply and now needs to build replacement capacity or convert them
Nuclear power, natural gas, green hydrogen, offshore wind and large-scale batteries are all pieces in the puzzle of achieving a carbon-free city

Richard Lancaster

Published: 6:45am, 9 Dec 2021

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We live in an age of crises. We are beset by health crises, energy crises and supply chain crises. Above all, we are in the midst of a climate change emergency which is rapidly becoming the defining crisis of our time.

I have followed the debates around climate change for many years. The science of global warming is irrefutable. Average temperatures around the world have risen by around 1.2 degrees Celsius from pre-industrial levels. We are witnessing rising sea levels and storms on an unprecedented magnitude.

According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, average temperatures are projected to rise by 1.5 degrees by 2040, 3 degrees by 2060 and a potentially unsurvivable 5.7 degrees by the end of the century.

The Covid-19 pandemic has delivered a lesson on the fragility of our global economy, but its impact will be nothing compared with prolonged climate change. Avoiding its terrifying consequences demands coordination, investment and tireless work by all.

Last month’s UN climate change summit (COP26) in Glasgow was a small step on that journey. Diplomats might tell you it exceeded expectations. Scientists might tell you it fell far short of what is required. The truth probably lies somewhere in-between.

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It did succeed in agreeing on a phasing down – rather than a phasing out – of coal, and a review of targets set for 2030 was brought forward to 2022. COP26 kept alive the 1.5-degree temperature rise goal and set out a timetable to follow.

CLP published a document in 2007 called “Climate Vision 2050”, outlining its plans to decarbonise the business by 2050. We did that because our business was one that generated income from coal-fired electricity generation where coal was considered abundant and low in cost. However, we viewed that as being unsustainable and requiring changes.

Our aim is to make our business carbon-free as quickly as we can as guided by the targets in our Climate Vision. These targets have been updated regularly, the most recent one being this year.

In Hong Kong, CLP provides electricity to around 80 per cent of the city’s population and is acutely aware of its responsibility to reduce emissions. To completely decarbonise Hong Kong’s economy, there are three collective steps we must take: be as energy efficient as possible; decarbonise our electricity supply as soon as possible; and, use electricity over carbon-emitting forms of energy wherever possible.

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We already have the power plants in place to decarbonise our energy supply. What we must do is build replacement capacity or convert them to carbon-free forms of energy.

A new gas-fired generation unit went into service at Black Point power station in 2020 to achieve the milestone of producing half our electricity from natural gas, and a second unit is under construction. When it goes into service in 2023, we will have the capacity to shut down the coal-fired Castle Peak power station.

Another 36 per cent of our power comes from zero-carbon energy generated by the Daya Bay nuclear power station in Guangdong. We are working with the government to put as much renewable energy into the grid as possible.

On each step of the decarbonisation journey, however, we must ensure we keep the city running smoothly. Hong Kong is a dynamic city, and its economy depends on a reliable power supply. We must also ensure our electricity is affordable.

CLP eyes clean energy imports, domestic renewables to help city decarbonise

To achieve this, we must use proven technologies and think regionally. This is not unlike how Singapore finds creative ways to gain access to clean energy from its neighbours by importing electricity from Malaysia.

We must also act strategically. Natural gas is a stepping stone to a fully carbon-free fuel, and that fuel is green hydrogen. If green hydrogen can be produced in sufficient quantities, it can be used in a natural gas power plant that is repurposed as a hydrogen power plant.

The process of producing hydrogen from renewable energy was invented in the early 1800s. It has been in our toolkit for two centuries, but we have not used it in the past because of its relatively high cost. Technological advances and economies of scale in a market where everyone urgently wants clean energy could soon put green hydrogen within our reach.

Much of the natural gas that comes to Hong Kong today travels along a pipeline from Central Asia to Black Point power station, crossing deserts and windswept plains dotted with solar and wind farms that produce more energy than they can distribute.

What is green hydrogen and can it help China meet its carbon goals?

Rather than waste it, we can use electrolysers to produce hydrogen and feed it into the pipeline, gradually increasing the ratio of hydrogen and reducing natural gas. If we begin that process now, the ratio will be close to or at 100 per cent hydrogen within 30 years.

Other exciting options are within our grasp. Technology has made offshore wind an increasingly viable technology for Hong Kong. While we are short of land, there is bountiful space in the waters surrounding us. Renewable energy could ultimately supply around 10 per cent of our city’s energy.

We are also drawing on the technology of large-scale batteries. We have installed one at Hong Kong International Airport, another piece of the puzzle as we work towards a carbon-free city where fossil fuels are supplanted by green energy.

Decarbonisation is no longer a distant dream or a lofty aspiration. It is a process that is under way and a destination we can reach on schedule through a combination of technology, cooperation and strategic planning.

More critically, as global temperatures continue to rise and put the lives and futures of whole populations in jeopardy, decarbonisation is a moral imperative to humanity we cannot afford to ignore.

Richard Lancaster is the CEO of CLP Holdings