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Carrie Lam policy address 2021
Hong KongHealth & Environment

Hong Kong to phase out coal as a power generation source by 2035, Carrie Lam pledges in policy address

  • Carrie Lam sets fresh target of ending Hong Kong’s use of coal for electricity generation within 14 years
  • Local green groups say the city must go even further across a range of areas to deliver on its flagship pledge on carbon neutrality by 2050

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Hong Kong’s leader wants to see renewables make up at least 10 per cent of the city’s fuel mix. Photo: Shutterstock
Zoe Low

Hong Kong will strive to phase out coal as a power generation source by 2035 while increasing its renewable energy share to 10 per cent, the city’s leader has pledged as part of the city’s push towards carbon neutrality.

Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor gave greater emphasis to climate initiatives in Wednesday’s policy address than in her previous speeches, laying out clearer goals for putting the city’s fuel mix on a greener footing.

“Our interim target is to cease using coal for daily electricity generation by 2035,” Lam said, with coal currently accounting for about a quarter of Hong Kong’s energy mix.

Her pledge to end reliance on coal came on the heels of Beijing’s promise at the UN last month to stop building new plants abroad that were powered by fossil fuels.

But local green groups said Lam’s latest steps did not go far enough and urged the government to commit to a wider programme of concrete and swift action if officials wanted Hong Kong to reach the target of being carbon neutral by 2050.

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