Hong Kong must do its part to address challenge of global warming
Edwin Lau says the risks are real enough to warrant a change in mindset
If you think Hong Kong is a well-developed city that will avoid the worst of typhoons and other severe weather, you are being too short-sighted. It's becoming almost impossible to predict the destructive power of the weather as the climate keeps changing due to natural and man-made influences.
The deadly destruction in the Philippines wreaked by Typhoon Haiyan in November serves as a wake-up call for the world. In his upcoming policy address, Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying cannot be complacent about the potential climate threats to Hong Kong, given that we rely almost entirely on supplies from elsewhere for our basic necessities of food, water and fuel.
If Hong Kong were hit hard by a typhoon of similar intensity to Haiyan, it is likely that many of our services, including communications systems, would be damaged, and freight movement halted. We might even need to be rescued by other countries.
Experts from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change have advised world leaders repeatedly that every economy, especially the large emitters of carbon dioxide, should lower their emissions by consuming less fossil fuel.
They should try and adopt the wider use of clean, renewable energies and enhance energy efficiency.
Our government should play a part in addressing this global challenge by formulating an energy policy to lead the power and transport sectors - both businesses and individuals - towards a carbon-neutral goal, even if we are aware this cannot be achieved with today's technology.
Above all, we need to change our mindset. Instead of exploring cost-effective means to extract more fossil fuels from the ground, we should focus on the development of clean renewables.
