(Dongfeng Motor Group Co. Chairman Xu Ping gives the thumb up at first day
quotations of his company in the Hong Kong Stock Exchange)
In Hong Kong, pollution levels are choking out its residents, where about 2,000 people die every year from its effects. This week, the New York Times reported that the business muscle of Hong Kong – the Hong Kong Stock Exchange – is hoping to help change that.
Hong Kong business leaders are looking to enter the emissions trading market and analysts predict it could be a leader in the east, if not the world.
Dubbed by the Times as a “fast-growing international market,” the emissions trading idea is catching on. While there is irony in the idea of making profit from pollution, it might be a necessary first step in reducing global greenhouse gas emissions and educating the public about its social responsibility to climate change.
Some believe it is also a good way to make a fortune. By 2010, the emissions trading market is estimated to skyrocket up to $100 billion; the dominant players today being two Western bodies – the Chicago Climate Exchange and the European Climate Exchange. Hong Kong could be next, if analysts’ forecasts are correct.
A recent four-month feasibility study recently concluded that that the city could be a global leader in emissions trading due to its financial strengths and proximity to mainland China.
If it were to happen, it could kick-start broader emissions trading projects in China and the rest of Asia. Roger Ruafer, a consultant with the International Environment Trading Group, and who advised on the Hong Kong study, said that there is compelling evidence that shows emissions trading can hasten the speed and efficiency of environmental cleanup.
“Because you put a price on the pollution, these economic instruments constantly force you constantly to think about ways to get rid of pollution. By using resources efficiently, the government can afford to be more aggressive in terms of protecting the environment.”
Anthony Hedley, a medicine professor from the University of Hong Kong said that emissions trading might serve as part of the long-term solution, but a more radical solution for Hong Kong is needed today.
Concerns are that if legislation or an emissions trading market were to come into effect in Asia, it would be difficult to get compliance in countries like China, where businesses have been operating like the Wild West lately. And anyway, newspapers report that China might be interested in its own emissions trading via the proposed Beijing Climate Exchange.
In the meantime, it might be just a baby step but flights to Hong Kong can be offset through Virgin Atlantic, and the marine insurance broker FP Marine Risks Limited, headquartered in Hong Kong sent out a press release earlier this year that it has become a recognized carbon neutral company, by offsetting carbon emissions that result from the company’s air travel. It may be a drop in the bucket, but we have to start somewhere.
And for bigger drops see carbon offset projects in China:
Inner Mongolian Wind Power
Bio-Gas Tanks in China
Mountains of Southwest China
Ningxia Tianjing Shenzhou Wind Farm
Protecting Biodiversity in Tengchong
Shimenping Hydropower Station