To: Editor of South China Morning Post

I refer to the article by Alex Lo (“Energy mix will save city from panicking”) on 30 September2021.

The Government has been sparing no efforts to optimse the fuel mix for electricity generation. To achieve deep decarbonisation, the Government has seen to it that the two power companies use cleaner fuel for electricity generation. Since 1997, we have not allowed the local power companies to build new coal-fired power plants. Coal only accounted for less than one quarter of the fuel mix for electricity generation in 2020, substantially lower than its share in 2015 which was about half, while the share of natural gas has significantly increased from around one quarter to almost half during the same period. We met our remaining electricity demand (around one quarter) by renewable energy and imported nuclear energy, which has been of steady supply for more than two decades with supply reliability of over 99.9% in recent years.

The Government published the Hong Kong’s Climate Action Plan 2030+ in 2017. The plan sets out in detail the key mitigation, adaptation and resilience measures to be taken, as well as our target to reduce Hong Kong’s carbon intensity by 65%-70% between 2005 and 2030. As set out in the plan, Hong Kong will phase down coal-fired power plants and replace coal with natural gas and non-fossil fuels for electricity generation to meet the 2030 carbon reduction target. We are on the way to achieve the target. Hong Kong’s total greenhouse gas emissions reached its peak in 2014 and is showing a downward trend. The carbon intensity in 2019 was about 35% lower than that in the baseline year of 2005. The two power companies will continue to phase down coal-fired power plants as they reach their retirement life. The Government will also further press ahead with the development of renewable energy, keep abreast of the latest technologies in low to zero-carbon energy, and stay open to all options that may reduce carbon emissions from electricity generation.

To achieve carbon neutrality before 2050, the Government will update the Hong Kong’s Climate Action Plan to set out more proactive long-term decarbonisation strategies and targets for each major area including electricity generation. In formulating the decarbonisation plan for our electricity generation, we will always ensure that our electricity supply is safe, reliable and affordable while achieving environmental sustainability.

Queenie Lee,
Principal Assistant Secretary for the Environment (Electricity - Energy Research),
Environmental Protection Department