Climate Change: Towards Carbon Neutrality

The impacts of global warming have been felt in every corner of the world. We just had a super warm Chinese New Year here in Hong Kong, didn’t we? If the world does not take immediate and necessary actions to tackle the climate crisis, climate change will certainly pose drastic consequences for our future generations. We, as professional urbanists, need to be constantly reminded of the urgency of climate change, and that we can play a role in combating it.

What is Climate Change? | Start Here

Reporter: Sandra Gathmann, Al Jazeera Media Network

What is the meaning of ‘Carbon Neutral’, ‘Net Zero’ and ‘Climate Neutral’?

In the battle to curb climate change, 174 states and the European Union have signed the Paris Agreement in 2015 with an aim to limit global warming to preferably 1.5 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels. In Hong Kong, the Government released the “Climate Action Plan 2030+” in early 2017, setting out a carbon emissions reduction target for 2030. Indeed, reducing the carbon footprint of a city down to net zero requires big changes on all aspects. Wait a minute -- there is a difference amongst ‘carbon neutral’, ‘net zero’ and ‘climate neutral’. Can you tell the difference?

Speaker: Barbara Albert, Co-CEO of 100% Renewables PTY Limited

Climate solutions and technologies are no longer surreal or far-fetched. We now turn to the reality and look at some real life, overseas examples:

Unleash the Power of Cities

City planners shall not forget, that cities can be a solution in addressing climate change! In the following video, the speakers shared their thoughts on how cities should become a key driver in combating climate change:

Speakers: Andrew Steer, President and CEO of World Resources Institute, et al.

In the recently announced 2021-22 Budget, the Hong Kong Government indicates that it will endeavor to achieve carbon neutrality before 2050, and Hong Kong’s Climate Action Plan will be updated later this year. For now, let’s have a look at some overseas examples of moving towards carbon neutrality at city-level: