The View | Carbon tracker tools show how Hong Kong can aid global climate fight
- Hong Kong has made a modest contribution to the battle against global warming by developing two simple tools SMEs can use to track their carbon emissions
- The city has the potential to be a leader in the new corporate governance system in the climate change era
The Earth is heating up due to carbon emissions from the use of fossil fuels. The challenge is to develop clean energy sources and move away from fossil fuels within the next few decades, to avoid planetary overheating.
Achieving carbon neutrality is a tall order. It means arriving at a balance between emitting carbon and absorbing it from the atmosphere in “carbon sinks”. In other words, in the case of the mainland, the carbon it releases into the atmosphere would have to be balanced by an equivalent amount being absorbed by its forests, oceans and soil within its own territory by 2060.
A low-carbon future requires decarbonisation and strengthening ecosystems. It requires sustained efforts over decades. Economies must decarbonise heavy industries and sectors including energy, transport, agriculture and manufacturing, accelerate resource reuse and recycling, and mount massive nature conservation efforts.
The overall aim includes establishing a new corporate governance system in which carbon, environmental and biodiversity accounting takes centre stage. Quite simply, to decarbonise, we must first be able to measure the sources and amounts of our carbon emissions.
