Message from Chief Executive, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
Hon. C Y Leung, GBM, GBS, JP
Chief Executive, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
I am pleased to see the publication of the Hong Kong Report on the State of Sustainable Built Environment 2017. The report, published every three years, presents the current state of Hong Kong’s built environment.
community involvement in a wide range of projects, large and small, from the adoption of building automation controls to the development of a master plan for a pilot smart city in Hong Kong’s Kowloon East district.
The 2017 Hong Kong Report carries the theme ‘Transforming Our Built Environment through Innovation and Integration: Putting Ideas into Action’, in keeping with the theme of the World Sustainable Built Environment Conference, 5-7 June, in Hong Kong.
Looking to the future, 195 countries, including China, have agreed to combat climate change and fulfil the 2°C target under the Paris Agreement. The Agreement, I am pleased to note, applies to Hong Kong, a Special Administrative Region of China. With buildings accounting for 60 % of our carbon emissions, achieving a sustainable built environment forms a crucial aspect of our climate change strategy. I look forward to continuing our sustainable building reform, to showing the world how high-density Hong Kong can achieve low-carbon living, with all the advantages it brings to business and community.
The report details the joint efforts of the Hong Kong Government, together with industry and the community, in pursuing a sustainable built environment in our compact city of more than seven million people. Hong Kong has been working towards a high-density, low-carbon community since 1997, when the Government commissioned the ‘Study on Sustainable Development for the 21st Century in Hong Kong’. While the Government has taken the lead in adopting energy-saving and greenbuilding design, community engagement is highlighted in a new, dedicated section of the report. It features projects ranging from community green stations to mobile apps. A sustainable built environment also requires
6
Hon. C Y Leung, GBM, GBS, JP Chief Executive Hong Kong Special Administrative Region