Wong Kam-sing

Wong as the Secretary for the Environment has introduced a number of policy blueprints to establish the direction, targets and roadmaps for policies on air quality, waste reduction and recycling, nature conservation, climate change and energy. These blueprints include:

• March 2013, "A Clean Air Plan for Hong Kong";[3][4][5]
• May 2013, "Hong Kong Blueprint for Sustainable Use of Resources 2013–2022";[6]
• February 2014, "A Food Waste & Yard Waste Plan for Hong Kong 2014–2022";[7]
• May 2015, "Energy Saving Plan for Hong Kong’s Built Environment 2015–2025+";[8]
• November 2015, “Hong Kong Climate Change Report 2015”;[9]
• December 2016, "Hong Kong Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan 2016–2021";[10]
• January 2017, "Hong Kong’s Climate Action Plan 2030+".[11]

Air quality

To improve the air quality, Wong implemented a set of new air quality objectives[12] soon after his assumption of office, and launched the Air Quality Health Index[13] to tie in with the new air quality objectives. On the other hand, a wide range of measures have been implemented targeting vehicles, vessels and power plants, which are the major sources of local air pollutants. Over $10 billion was set aside to launch a scheme in 2014[14][15] to phase out some 80 000 pre-Euro IV diesel commercial vehicles by 2020, and another $7 billion scheme will be launched in 2020 to phase out some 40 000 Euro IV diesel commercial vehicles. Starting from 2015, ocean-going vessels are required to switch to low-sulphur fuel while berthing in Hong Kong, making Hong Kong the first Asian city to implement mandatory fuel switch at berth.[16] From 2019 onwards, vessels are further required to use low-sulphur fuel within Hong Kong waters to dovetail with the establishment of Asia’s first marine emission control area in the Mainland China.[17] The power plants have also been continuously reducing the emission of air pollutants in order to meet the emissions caps set by the Government. The percentage of coal-fired electricity generation has been substantially reduced from about 50% in 2015 to about 25% in 2020[18].

The overall air quality in Hong Kong has improved evidently in recent years. From 2014 to 2019, the ambient concentrations of major air pollutants, including respirable suspended particulates, fine suspended particulates, nitrogen dioxide and sulphur dioxide, have dropped by 22% to 55%, whereas roadside concentrations of such air pollutants have also dropped by 22% to 44%[19] .

On the percentage of electric private cars among all private cars, 6.3% of newly registered private cars in Hong Kong are electric in 2019, higher than 3.9% of the Mainland China and other Asian economies such as South Korea (1.9%), Japan (0.5%) and Thailand (0.1%). As mentioned in the 2019 Policy Address, the Government will prepare for a $2 billion pilot subsidy scheme to subsidise the installation of electric vehicle charging-enabling infrastructure in car parks of existing private residential buildings. It is anticipated that the pilot scheme will run for about 3 years to cover roughly 60 000 private parking spaces[20].

Waste reduction and recycling

On waste management, the key strategies include:

a) Introduce quantity-based waste charging through legislation based on the “polluter pays” principle and to encourage waste reduction at source: a bill was introduced into the Legislative Council (LegCo) for the first time in end 2018.[21][22][23]

b) Implement producer responsibility schemes (PRS) for different products: Three pieces of legislation relating to PRS were passed between 2012 and 2017, covering plastic shopping bags,[24] glass beverage containers,[25] and waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE).[26] The next target is plastic beverage containers, with the use of reverse vending machines to improve the efficiency of collecting plastic beverage containers.

c) Encourage the public to reduce food waste at source: The Food Wise Hong Kong Campaign[27] has been launched since 2013, with the Big Waster icon created; Big Waster on Facebook and Big Waster on Instagram have been established to provide information on “food wise and waste less” and other green messages; non-governmental organisations have been funded by the Environment and Conservation Fund (ECF)[28] to promote surplus food donation.

d) Promote waste separation and recovery: Clean Recycling Campaign[29] has been rolled out in continuation of the “blue for paper, yellow for aluminium cans, brown for plastic bottles” campaign launched about 20 years ago; a mobile application “Waste Less” [30] has been developed to display over 7 000 recyclable collection points across the territory; a community recycling network comprising Community Green Stations (CGS)[31] and Community Recycling Centres are being built up to enhance waste reduction and recycling in all districts in Hong Kong; a $1 billion Recycling Fund has been launched to support the recycling industry;[32][33] and the "Reduce and Recycle 2.0" Campaign[34] was launched in June 2020 to introduce the enhanced service of the community recycling network, encourage the public to go green, and support circular economy and green recovery.

e) Turn waste into energy: T‧PARK was built to treat sludge from the sewage treatment works and generate energy; a large scale advanced municipal solid waste incineration plant (the Integrated Waste Management Facilities Phase 1) is being constructed near Shek Kwu Chau; a network of Organic Resources Recovery Centres (O‧PARKs) is being built in phases,[35][36] and the trial on food waste/sewage sludge anaerobic co-digestion technology is being carried out at the Tai Po Sewage Treatment Works to transform food waste into renewable energy. Around 13 000 tonnes of food waste were recovered to turn waste into energy in 2018, increasing to 28 000 tonnes in 2019. It is expected that food waste recycling will be extended to include part of the domestic food waste in 2020, with an estimated recovery amount of 45 000 tonnes. There will be two more food waste treatment facilities in the coming two to three years: at Sha Tin Sewage Treatment Works where food waste/sewage sludge anaerobic co-digestion will be introduced, and O‧PARK2 in North District.[37][38]

f) Turn waste into resources: The government-funded WEEE‧PARK, which commenced operation in October 2017, adopts state-of-the-art technologies for proper recycling and treatment of locally generated WEEE. As at July 2020, WEEE‧PARK has processed about 1.75 million pieces of WEEE, including about 412 000 washing machines, 200 000 refrigerators, 297 000 televisions, 166 000 air-conditioners and 673 000 computer products, turning waste into resources.[39] Proposals for yard waste management are also introduced to turn yard waste into energy and resources.

g) Support waste paper and plastic recycling: The Government engaged a number of service contractors in July 2020 to collect waste paper across the territory for screening, sorting and exporting to other places for recycling; a 2-year pilot scheme was launched in 2020 in three districts to provide free collection of a wide range of plastic recyclables from non-commercial and non-industrial sources in the districts, such as public and private housing estates, schools, CGSs and Community Recycling Centres.

Nature conservation

An ordinance was enacted by the LegCo in 2013 to incorporate the country park enclaves of Tai Long Sai Wan (Sai Wan), Kam Shan and Yuen Tun into their respective country parks, increasing the area of country parks by about 38 hectares.[40] In 2016, the Environment Bureau and the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department completed the first city-level Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan for Hong Kong.[41] In June 2017, the Government announced its in-principle agreement to conserving a private land with very high ecological value in Sha Lo Tung through non-in-situ land exchange, with a view to conserving this area renowned for having marshes and streams among woodland and being a sanctuary for dragonflies.[42] The Government amended the relevant ordinance in May 2018 to progressively phase out local ivory trade by the end of 2021, and to increase penalties on smuggling of and illegal trade in endangered species to deter the related activities.[43]

The Environmental Protection Department established the Countryside Conservation Office in July 2018, and earmarked $1 billion to support minor improvement works in the remote countryside, as well as the countryside conservation and revitalisation projects conducted by non-profit making organisations[44].
In addition, the Southwest Lantau Marine Park, covering an area of about 650 hectares, has formally become the sixth marine park in Hong Kong with effect from 1 April 2020. This is conducive to providing a better habitat for marine life such as the Chinese white dolphins[45].

Climate change

To implement the Paris Agreement, the HKSAR Government has set a target that by 2030, carbon intensity should be lower than the 2005 level by 65% to 70%. By then, the per capita carbon emissions will be reduced to 3.3-3.8 tonnes per year. Figures show that Hong Kong’s carbon emissions peaked in 2014. The per capita carbon emissions also decreased from 6.2 tonnes (peak) in 2014 to 5.4 tonnes in 2018, and are anticipated to decrease further to 4.5 tonnes in 2020.[46] The Government has invited the Council for Sustainable Development to engage the public to help formulate a longer-term decarbonisation strategy.[47] Meanwhile, a $200 million Green Tech Fund has been set up to promote local R&D on decarbonisation and green technologies.

Energy

The Energy Saving Plan for the Built Environment 2015~2025+ published by the Government in 2015 sets a specific energy saving target: reducing the energy intensity by 40% by 2025, using 2005 as the base. So far, a reduction of more than 30% has been achieved. In order to meet this target, the Government has introduced a series of measures, including providing tax concession for energy-efficient and renewable energy installations,[48] raising the statutory energy efficiency standards of buildings and electrical appliances,[49] constructing district cooling systems and promoting retro-commissioning[50] and other innovations that help existing buildings to save energy.

The Government also actively promotes renewable energy. Since 2018, it has introduced Feed-in Tariff (FiT), and implemented a number of facilitation measures, including relaxing the restrictions on the installation of solar energy generation systems on the rooftops of “village houses”,[51] exempting individuals participating in the FiT Scheme from applying for business registration and paying related profits tax,[52] and launching Solar Harvest to install solar energy generation systems for schools and welfare organisations free of charge.[53] As at the end of June 2020, the two power companies had approved more than 8 600 FiT applications in total. The solar panels involved can cover about 95 standard football pitches, and the electricity generated annually can support about 38 000 families, which is more than half the number of domestic households in Wan Chai.[54] The Government has also taken the lead in installing renewable energy facilities at its premises (including reservoirs and landfills) and strengthening its effort to turn waste to energy.

In 2017, Wong launched a blog (SEN’s Blog)[55] to brief the public on the latest progress of his policy initiatives with the help of video clips and images. In addition, Wong Kam Sing on Facebook and Wong Kam Sing on Instagram pages have been set up in recent years to strengthen communication with the public.

After graduated from CCC Kei Tsz Primary School,[56] Wong studied in St Bonaventure College and High School and Po Leung Kuk CFA No. 1 College (now called Po Leung Kuk No.1 W.H. Cheung College). Wong got his degree from the Faculty of Architecture of The University of Hong Kong in 1988. He then received further education on sustainable built environment from the graduate school of The University of British Columbia in Canada in the 1990s.

Wong’s wife, Susan Leung So-wan, is also an architect. Leung has been the Chair of the Board of Local Affairs of the Hong Kong Institute of Architects. They have a daughter.