How "Green" is LegCo?

Originally planned for September 2020, the election for the 7th Legislative Council of Hong Kong is now scheduled on 19 December 2021. 153 candidates are contesting for the 90 seats across the geographical, functional, and Election Committee constituencies.

But how "green” are these potential future legislators? Friends of the Earth (HK) is now preparing questions to ask candidates regarding their stance on climate change, clean transport, circular economy and green finance.

The questionnaire will use multiple choice questions and can be answered from "strongly support" to "strongly oppose".

Strongly Support  Support  Neutral  Oppose  Strongly Oppose

Climate Change

1.Do you support importing renewable energy from the mainland through dedicated lines to increase the proportion of clean energy in the fuel mix and mitigate climate change?

2.Do you support Hong Kong in setting up a stable green hydrogen supply chain with neighbouring countries to reduce dependence on fossil fuels?

3.Do you support including a clause within the "Scheme of Control Agreements” between the government and the two power companies to fix a timeline to phase out fossil fuels?

4.Do you support regularly tightening the "Building Energy Code” and mandating energy audits, retro-commissioning and life cycle assessment on buildings to improve building energy efficiency?

5.Do you support putting a price on carbon to have companies internalise the environmental cost of climate change?

Circular Economy

1.Do you support expanding "Producer Responsibility Schemes” to cover more products and services to reflect their true environmental costs through the "Polluter Pays Principle”?

2.Do you support implementing a landfill ban on the disposal of recyclable and biodegradable items to promote the sustainable development of the recycling industry?

3.Do you support speeding up the elimination of disposable plastic tableware to protect the ecological environment and reduce carbon emission?

Air Quality

1.Do you support implementing electronic road pricing on busy roads to reduce roadside air pollution and carbon emission?

2.Do you support speeding up the electrification roadmap for public transport and commercial vehicles and actively explore hydrogen vehicle development?

3.Do you support implementing a vehicle quota system to control the unchecked growth of vehicles and improve roadside air quality?

Green Finance

1.Do you support the government in subsidising ESG education and developing a recognized ESG professional qualification framework?

2.Do you support the government in developing a ESG reporting framework for both listed and non-listed companies?

3.Do you support promoting the development of green insurance to reduce operational risks of green credit and broaden financing channels for green industries?

If you are interested to know where candidates stand on certain environmental topics, we welcome you to send in your questions at foehk@foe.org.hk and we may add them to our questionnaire!