Hong Kong does not mention ‘climate change’ in its five-year plan, yet it already has many ingredients of climate leadership
3-MIN READ3-MINChristine LohChristine Loh is chief development strategist at the Institute for the Environment, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. Published: 4:30pm, 22 Sep 2026Hong Kong deserves credit for its first five-year plan, accompanied by a detailed policy address. The plan establishes a useful framework beyond the annual policy cycle. Precisely because this is an important first effort, it is worth asking what could make the framework even stronger.
One striking omission is that the five-year plan never explicitly mentions climate change. This does not mean Hong Kong is failing to act.
Consider the binding indicators. They include the long-standing reduction in carbon emissions per unit of gross domestic product and increasing the proportion of zero-carbon energy in electricity generation. The plan also addresses cleaner power, electric vehicles, green maritime fuels, sustainable aviation fuel, energy efficiency, hydrogen, waste reduction and carbon trading.
