The Joint Meeting of Four Expert Groups of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Energy Working Group (EWG) and two associated events are being held in Hong Kong for the first time this week in a schedule running from yesterday until Friday.

Secretary for Environment & Ecology Tse Chin-wan and Director of Electrical & Mechanical Services Poon Kwok-ying spoke at today’s session.

The joint meeting covers energy data and analysis, energy efficiency and conservation, new and renewable energy technologies, and clean fossil energy.

The meeting is being held in conjunction with the APEC Workshop on Promoting Energy Efficiency Enhancement in Electricity Generation and the 8th Oil & Gas Security Network Forum.

Mr Tse highlighted in the meeting that APEC economies consume approximately 60% of the world’s energy, and that energy demand and carbon emissions in the region will continue to rise as the member economies pursue rapid and ongoing economic growth and urbanisation.

This makes it crucial to accelerate the transition to green energy, mitigate climate change risks and ensure energy security and sustainable economic development, he added.

The environment chief also outlined that Hong Kong is striving to achieve carbon neutrality before 2050, and will cease using coal for electricity generation by 2035.

He said that the city is actively implementing decarbonisation measures. This includes planning infrastructure to import more zero-carbon electricity from neighbouring regions, enhancing energy efficiency in buildings, developing green transportation and promoting hydrogen energy development.

Mr Poon spoke about Hong Kong’s energy developments and stressed the importance of maintaining dialogue among APEC members to meet the challenges of climate change.