Policy and institutions · Hong Kong

Hong Kong's first Five-Year Plan makes carbon intensity and a 30% zero-carbon power share binding 2030 indicators

Hong Kong published its First Five-Year Plan for 2026-2030 on 16 September 2026, with 105 indicators, 22 of them major indicators.

Two binding indicators target carbon: carbon intensity, already 12.3% below the 2020 level in 2024, and the zero-carbon share of power generation, set to go from 25% in 2024 to 30% in 2030.

The plan also says Hong Kong will help the country implement Article 6 of the Paris Agreement and will build a carbon trading hub.

16 Sep 2026Policy and institutionsHong KongPublished 12 Nov 2026
Victoria Harbour and Kowloon at night, seen from Sky100
Victoria Harbour and Kowloon at night, seen from Sky100. Photo: Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 3.0, source. Resized only; no other change.
Report

What happened

The Government released the plan on 16 September 2026, the same day as the 2026 Policy Address. Its major-indicator table splits targets into anticipatory and binding ones. Four of the plan's five binding indicators are environmental, and all four environmental indicators are binding: carbon emission per unit of GDP (carbon intensity), the zero-carbon share of the electricity fuel mix, average PM2.5 concentration (15 now, below 14 in 2030), and compliance with surface water quality objectives (above 88%, rising to above 90%). For carbon intensity the table gives 12.3% as the 2024 reduction against 2020 and lists 32.5 as the cumulative cut, in percent, for 2030 measured from the 2024 level.

Chapter 25 adds longer-range aims. Coal is to stop being used for daily power generation by 2035. The plan also puts zero-carbon energy at about 60% to 70% of the fuel mix, without giving a year for that share. Commercial buildings are to cut electricity use by 30% to 40% and homes by 20% to 30% from 2015 levels by 2050, with half of those cuts by 2035. Table 38 sets 4,000 fast chargers by 2030 and an end to new registrations of fuel-propelled private cars, hybrids included, in 2035 or earlier.

On markets, paragraph 5.66 commits to a carbon trading hub, lifecycle emission values for green and low-carbon hydrogen, and support for the country in applying Paris Agreement Article 6 on credits. The finance chapter lists advancing an international carbon market under Finance plus Green Development. On 25 September 2026 the Council for Carbon Neutrality and Sustainable Development stated that it unanimously supported the plan's strategies and initiatives.

Context

Background

The plan sits under the Climate Action Plan 2050, announced on 8 October 2021, which aims to halve total emissions from the 2005 level before 2035 and reach carbon neutrality before 2050, with about HK$240 billion of climate spending over 15 to 20 years. An earlier plan from 2017 targeted a 65% to 70% cut in carbon intensity by 2030 against 2005. The 2021 plan set a renewable share of 7.5% to 10% in the power mix by 2035.

Hong Kong's inventory shows total emissions of about 33.2 million tCO2e in 2024, 3.6% lower than 2023 and about 27% below the 2014 peak; electricity generation made up 61%. Measured against 42,800 ktCO2e in 2005, 2024 was roughly 22% lower, while the 2035 target implies about 21,400 ktCO2e. Per capita emissions were 4.41 tonnes. A review of the Climate Action Plan was expected to be released in 2026.

Data

How it compares

Headline emission targets across Asia-Pacific

Source: HKSAR Government, Environment Bureau; Environment and Ecology Bureau, Carbon Neutrality and Sustainable Development website; Clean Energy Regulator; Press Information Bureau (Ministry of Power); Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment (MCEE), published on korea.kr; Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE). Checked 2026-11-12. Targets differ in type (absolute, intensity, sector-level) and are not directly comparable. Hong Kong's roughly 22% fall from 2005 to 2024 is calculated from the inventory (33,200 / 42,800 - 1).

Table of the same figures
EconomyTargetBaseline
Hong KongHalve emissions before 2035 (-50%)2005 level
Australia43% below by 2030; net zero by 20502005 level
IndiaCut emissions intensity of GDP by 45% by 20302005 level
Korea (2035 NDC)53% to 61% below by 20352018 net emissions (742.3 Mt)
China ETS (2026-2030)Unit-product emissions in covered sectors down about 3%Five-year target for covered sectors
Ahead

What is next

  • 2027: green and low-carbon hydrogen certification system to be set up (Five-Year Plan, Table 38).
  • 2030: binding indicator of a 30% zero-carbon share in the fuel mix for electricity generation.
Record

Sources

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