Published: 20:35, June 1, 2023 | Updated: 09:42, June 2, 2023
Tse: Achieving carbon neutrality requires GBA cooperation
By Wang Zhan

Secretary for Environment and Ecology Tse Chin-wan speaks at the Industry Green Development Conference 2023 in Guangzhou on June 1, 2023. (PHOTO / HKSAR GOVERNMENT)

HONG KONG – Hong Kong’s plan to achieve carbon neutrality in less than 30 years requires the deepening of regional cooperation within the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, Secretary for Environment and Ecology Tse Chin-wan said Thursday.

Tse also said at the Industry Green Development Conference 2023 in Guangzhou that the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government will practice sustainable development and contribute to national and global efforts to tackle climate change. 

Tse said Hong Kong is striving to reduce the total carbon emissions from the 2005 level by half before 2035 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2050

"The HKSAR government will continue to combat climate change and accelerate the green transformation and development of the HKSAR in various aspects,” Tse said in a speech at the conference, which was jointly organized by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the People's Government of Guangdong Province and the People's Government of Guangzhou Municipality.

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Tse said Hong Kong is striving to reduce the total carbon emissions from the 2005 level by half before 2035 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2050.

But achieving the city’s carbon neutrality target requires not only the support of all sectors of the community in Hong Kong, but also the deepening of GBA cooperation, Tse said. 

He said the HKSAR government has been cooperating with the Guangdong provincial government and the Shenzhen municipal government on environmental protection issues through various platforms, including the Hong Kong-Guangdong Joint Working Group on Environmental Protection and Combating Climate Change and the Hong Kong/Shenzhen cooperation working group.

Later, Tse toured the Industry Green Development Achievement Exhibition 2023 and met with exhibitors from Hong Kong enterprises to exchange views on promoting green development in the community. 

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More than 180 Chinese mainland and overseas organizations participated in the exhibition, building a high-level international exchange platform for green and low-carbon development.

Tse also met with Vice-Chairperson of the 14th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference National Committee and Executive Vice-Chairperson of the Chinese Peasants and Workers Democratic Party Central Committee Yang Zhen, as well as senior officials of the conference's major organizers, including Vice-Minister of the MIIT Xin Guobin, Vice-Governor of Guangdong Province Lu Yuyin, and Vice-Mayor of Guangzhou Jiang Zhitao, to strengthen exchanges and cooperation in cleaner production, industrial green development, energy saving and carbon emission reduction.

The members of Tse’s delegation included Commissioner for Climate Change Wong Chuen-fai and officers from the Environment and Ecology Bureau, the Environmental Protection Department and the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department.