Hong Kong official says carbon intensity fell 12.3% in four years
Hong Kong's Acting Secretary for Environment and Ecology said on 30 October that the city's carbon intensity fell about 12.3% from 2020 to 2024. He noted that 2024 carbon emissions were about 33.2 million tonnes, down 3.6% from 2023, while per-capita emissions hit a new low of about 4.41 tonnes.
HONG KONG — Hong Kong's Acting Secretary for Environment and Ecology said on 30 October that the city's carbon intensity fell about 12.3 per cent from 2020 to 2024, citing government data. He was speaking at a promotional event for the "Carbon Neutrality Publicity Campaign" organised by the Council for the Environment and the Environment and Conservation Fund.
The official noted that total carbon emissions in 2024 were about 33.2 million tonnes of carbon-dioxide equivalent, down about 3.6 per cent from 2023. Per-capita greenhouse-gas emissions fell to a new low of about 4.41 tonnes, a drop of about 3.5 per cent from 2023, which he said was about one-quarter of the US level and 70 per cent of the European Union figure. Carbon intensity per Hong Kong dollar of GDP was about 0.011 kg of carbon-dioxide equivalent, down about 6 per cent from 2023.
The government published the Hong Kong Climate Action Plan 2050 in October 2021, setting a 2050 carbon-neutrality target covering four strategies: net-zero power generation, energy-saving green buildings, green transport and waste reduction. The official said that in 2024, municipal solid-waste recycling reached about 2.02 million tonnes, with the recovery rate rising from about 31 per cent in 2021 to about 34 per cent in 2024. Average daily municipal solid-waste disposal in 2025 was about 10,326 tonnes, down about 9.1 per cent from 2021.
To support the Chief Executive's 2026 policy address on enhancing waste-reduction targets, the official said 24-hour smart自助 recycling facilities would gradually increase to about 3,000 sets, smart food-waste recycling bins would expand to about 2,500, and the I·PARK 1 plant would fully operate while I·PARK 2 construction would begin.
The official highlighted that the "Carbon Neutrality Publicity Campaign 2.1", launched in May 2026, had recorded over 112,000 page views on its carbon-tracking webpage, encouraging participants to cut up to 24,270 tonnes of carbon emissions across clothing, food, housing and transport within one year. He noted that partners were implementing measures including hydrogen development, boosting zero-carbon energy in the power-generation fuel mix, adopting high-tech energy-saving technology and promoting electric vehicles, in line with the 15th Five-Year Plan and Hong Kong's first five-year economic and social development plan.
Under the first five-year plan released in September, the government set a binding target to cut carbon intensity by a cumulative 32.5 per cent by 2030 compared with 2024 levels, the official said. He expressed confidence in achieving the goal with continued support from stakeholders and the public.
