Where does the water we drink come from? Is there enough for everyone?

Hong Kong’s water supply comes from the rainfall we collect in our reservoirs (20-30%) and water we buy from the Mainland (70-80%). The agreement for water from Dongjiang, a tributary of the Pearl River, will expire in 2015.

With demand growing throughout the Pearl River Delta and supply of water compromised by pollution and climate change, Hong Kong’s access to clean water is far from certain.

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Civic Exchange hosted a press conference to outline key players in reducing franchised bus emissions, and to identify key roles for Chief Secretary, Secretary for Health & Food and Transport Department.

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Widespread disappointment following the failure of COP15 to come up with a binding agreement on climate change, despite having two years to work on the details. While the potential impacts and the rapidly diminishing window for action cry out for determined global action, since Copenhagen the prospect of a global agreement appears remote. Civic Exchange hosted an Energy Forum on “Why is Effective Action on Global Climate Change so Hard?” The forum addressed the underlying difficulties behind reaching an agreement, and the development of new approaches and new solutions. The keynote speaker was Jay Hakes, provided the insight into national deliberations in the United States, and Andrew Lawson (Civic Exchange), Dr Jeanne Ng (CLP Holdings Ltd) and Dr John Burnett (FAC Group) have outlined three different approaches to achieving meaningful emissions reductions.

Click here to download the EVENT REPORT.

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By Christine Loh, Mike Kilburn, Jonas Chau

In recent years there has been growing concern about the diminishing livability of Hong Kong’s urban environment. Public concern has focused on air pollution, especially from diesel vehicles on our congested roads, limited open space for public interaction, and the “wall effect” and “street canyon effect”, caused by tall and bulky buildings blocking natural airflows and preventing dispersal of air pollution and the cooling of hot urban areas. Hong Kong is beginning to respond to the challenges of climate change, yet our buildings, cooled by air conditioning, accessed by escalators and elevators, and filled with energy hungry appliances, lighting and equipment consume about 90% of our electricity, and are responsible for some 50-60% of Hong Kong’s greenhouse gas emissions.

Click here to read the full report.

Media coverage:
17 December 2010 - SCMP – Desire for land revenue stifles good planning

The Legislative Council Panel on Security discussed Security Bureau’s “Outcome of Public Consultation on the Proposed Introduction of the MPDS” on 13 April 2010. Civic Exchange hosted a press briefing and invited Mr Cheung Tak Hai from the Alliance for Patients’ Mutual Help Organizations and Prof Timothy Rainer from Prince of Wales Hospital’s Service Department of Emergency Medicine to explain the importance of adopting MPDS.

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By Ma Jun, Christine Loh, Wang Jingjing and Wuwei

Civic Exchange and Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs (IPE) co-authored the current report to illustrate examples of water violations by HK-listed companies and suggest better environmental disclosure requirements from the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited.

Since 2006, the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs (IPE), a Beijing-based nongovernment organization, has operated the China Water and Air Pollution Database.

This web-based resource is the first of its kind in China to publish air and water quality data and feature a government-sourced list of companies cited for environmental violations in the mainland. By March 2010, IPE has uploaded more than 58,000 records of monitoring and enforcement from official mainland sources to its water and air pollution databases.

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Public policy think tank Civic Exchange today noted that dust from a giant sandstorm in northern China has caused record levels of air pollution. However, the greater harm comes from living in a persistently high pollution environment, and there is an urgent need to reduce the pollution Hong Kong generates itself. Toxic emissions from motor vehicles in particular remain a persistent and far greater threat to public health.

Click here to download the press release.

Organized by the Hong Kong Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences of HKU, this conference will investigate urbanism, nature, and ecological sustainability in Asian mega cities. Presentations will focus on the ways urban social processes intersect with assessments of urban environmental order and disorder in cities such as Mumbai and Delhi, with cross-reference to Hong Kong. The four panels “Political Ecology of the City”, “The Civic and the Public in Urban Environmental Conflicts”, “Built Environments and Green Design” and “The Social Lives of Urban Infrastructure” are open to interested members of the public. For more details about the conference and to register, see:www.hku.hk/ihss.

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By Civic Exchange

Civic Exchange submission to Legislative Council Panel on Environmental Affairs (Subcommittee on Improving Air Quality) – Early Replacement of Old Diesel Commercial Vehicles.

The Women’s Foundation hosts a Gala Lunch to celebrate International Women’s Day 2010. Christine Loh, CEO of Hong Kong’s Civic Exchange was the guest speaker.

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