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Hong Kong must make sustainable development a key focus of its first five-year plan. Doing so aligns not only with the national 15th five-year plan but also with the goal of strengthening resilience to environmental, social and economic challenges.
Just like other places around the world, Hong Kong has broken temperature records and suffered severe flooding in recent years.
As such, Hong Kong’s five-year plan and policy address should place greater emphasis on environmental measures – not only to conserve our ecosystem but also to advance social and economic development.
Due to the surging energy demand from data centres, ensuring a safe and zero-carbon electricity supply is of paramount importance. Setting mandatory power usage effectiveness standards for data centres to align with the mainland’s would conserve energy. Rating buildings on energy efficiency will drive continuous improvement. Setting targets for vegetation in urban areas will provide more shade and heat absorption, while conserving local species will enhance the city’s biodiversity.
Positioning Hong Kong as an international green port without onshore power facilities, at least for the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal, is embarrassing, if the city is serious about helping vessels minimise air pollution.