Green development high on Greater Bay Area agenda

Green bonds, green vehicles and green energy are among the measures for sustainable developments that will feature the Greater Bay Area, according to those at Monday's special session of the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2018.

"The HKSAR government is hoping to issue green bonds this year," Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, told the forum on April 9.

She noted at the forum that the SAR will follow national policies in cutting emissions and sustaining environment-friendly development. "We will surely put more of our attention and efforts on green development," she said.

The SAR as a global financial center has been linking its finance with green development. Recently the government came up with a certification system for green bonds and introduced subsidies for the issuance of such bonds.

"I encourage businesses at home and overseas to tap into the HK platforms of financial services more and better," Lam said.

Leong Vai Tac, secretary for economy and finance of the Macao SAR, also said Macao pays special attention to the environment and has been exploring environmental technology while working with the European Union.

The governor of South China's Guangdong province, Ma Xingrui, said the province will tackle such issues as the structure of energy and issues concerning water, soil and air while raising the efficiency in the use of resources and in facilitating the work of professionals.

Lam said Hong Kong also will be using electric vehicles and ferries while taking into consideration sustainability and creativity. "The emergence of the Greater Bay Area, especially at the current level of a national strategy, immediately solves HK's problem of limits of further economic development (in land and human resources)," she said.

Both she and Ma agreed that innovation in science and technology can address environmental issues and raise efficiency in their economic performances.