(By Yan-yan Yip, CEO) – We know how quickly the government can act if there is enough public pressure and it has the will to do so. Take parallel trading of baby formula as an example. Officials put forward, within weeks, measures to limit the amount of the product people could take across the border. Of course, for some parents, action should have been taken yesterday.

However, for issues that are neither on the government’s agenda nor on the public’s radar, it may take months or years to see any progress. Public records management is probably one of them. (more…)

(By Amber Marie Beard, Senior Project Manager) – “Ninety per cent of the electricity consumed in Hong Kong is used in buildings, and this consumption accounts for 60 per cent of Hong Kong’s greenhouse gas emissions.” How many times have we heard this statement in the past few years? It’s no secret that Hong Kong’s buildings are the primary source for energy and greenhouse-gas emissions, and it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that green buildings are the key to radical transformation of that statistic. So will somebody please tell me why there was merely an obligatory nod of acknowledgement in the recent policy address?

As a “world class” city, Hong Kong should be setting green building standards for other global cities. As an example, Singapore is enacting regulation this year requiring all buildings to get a minimum green certification when a new or replacement cooling system is installed. At the very least, Hong Kong could take a more aggressive approach to reducing energy and greenhouse-gas emissions in existing buildings. A few years ago, there was great support for retrofitting existing buildings, both from the government and the building industry. What happened to that momentum?

Currently, Hong Kong is engaged in a debate on the energy fuel mix as we seek to reduce our greenhouse emissions by 19-33 per cent from 2005 levels, to be in line with China’s reduction in carbon intensity targets for 2020. In addition to looking at the supply side of the equation, the demand side – namely, buildings – cannot be ignored. (more…)

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(By Louisa Mitchell) – Don’t faint. I am going to say something positive about Chief Executive Leung Chunying’s policy address last week.

Earlier this week, I attended a press conference held by a student-led social concern group at City University. It had undertaken a survey on the accessibility of the campus and attitudes towards disability and was publicising the results. (more…)

Hong Kong 25 January 2013 – Civic Exchange is proud to be a supporting organization of the shipping industry-led Fair Winds Charter 2013 (FWC 2013), announced today. FWC 2013 is an extension of the previous Charter that expired end of December last year. Signatories will now voluntarily switch to low sulphur fuel (sulphur content of 0.5% or less) while at berth in Hong Kong until the end of 2013.  

Chief Executive CY Leung committed last week in his maiden Policy Address to legislate at-berth fuel switching in Hong Kong, which is a major policy breakthrough in ship emissions control. Today’s announcement about FWC 2013 is a timely reminder of the great effort the shipping industry has put together over the last few years to clean-up their ships, and also a significant gesture of support to the new administration when it comes to at-berth fuel switching regulation in Hong Kong. 

“Ships are a major source of air pollution in Hong Kong, affecting the health of the people. We applaud the shipping industry’s on-going effort to clean-up, and their voluntary FWC 2011-12 contributed to a significant reduction in sulphur dioxide and particulate emissions at major berthing locations. What we want to see now is to keep up the momentum from the industry, by bringing other shipping companies onboard to FWC 2013, like the cruise ship companies, before regulation is put in place,” said Simon Ng, Head of Transport and Sustainability Research at Civic Exchange. 

“Together, FWC 2011-12 and FWC 2013 provide a strong and sustained message from industry to regional governments that the region needs regulation in line with international standards. Mandatory at-berth fuel switching is only the first step towards addressing emissions from ships. Region-wide regulations must follow quickly, in order to improve air quality for the entire Pearl River Delta region,” added Veronica Booth, Senior Project Manager at Civic Exchange. 

Since 2008, Civic Exchange has been actively convening and facilitating discussions for local and regional governments, shipping and container terminal industries, and air quality and logistics experts to tackle emissions from shipping and port activities. The original FWC was launched since 2011 as a way for the Hong Kong shipping industry to call for regulation across the Pearl River Delta region, and show their commitment by paying for the fuel switch. In addition to the Chief Executive’s Policy Address statement, the Environmental Protection Department and Marine Department also responded to the industry’s initiative by introducing the Port Facilities and Light Dues Incentive Scheme in September 2012. 

For information about FWC 2013: http://www.civic-exchange.org/wp/fair-winds-charter/

Hong Kong, 18 January 2013 … 37 civic groups¹ together release a Joint Statement in support of the Chief Executive’s commitment move forward with the Convention on Biological Diversity in his 2013 Policy Address².  (more…)

HONG KONG: Wednesday, 16 January 2013 – On environment, Civic Exchange welcomes Chief Executive C Y Leung’s proposals in his maiden policy address to tackle the city’s pressing environmental issues, including air pollution and nature conservation, among others. However, only time will tell whether government plans will be turned into real actions that deliver a liveable environment for Hong Kong people. On good governance, Civic Exchange finds it disappointing that the government has not planned to ensuring proper public records management in Hong Kong through enacting an archive law.
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(By Wilson Lau, Research & Project Coordinator) No one is perhaps more eager to end the contentions over Hong Kong’s land supply than the chief executive, who is reportedly due to announce initiatives to increase housing supply in next week’s policy address.

This comes as no surprise. For years, Hong Kong has seen housing become unaffordable and its old stock increasingly dilapidated. Moreover, a major feature of Leung Chun-ying’s election platform last year rested on a promise to tackle housing shortages.. (more…)