WWF questions the feasibility and impacts of building nuclear power plant in HK at Energy Policy Forum

Concerns have been raised on the impact of the latest radiation leakage from the Daya Bay power station on public safety. WWF questioned Mr. Edward Yau, JP, Secretary for the Environment, Environment Bureau and Mr. Richard Lancaster, Managing Director of CLP Power Hong Kong Ltd, on the feasibility and impacts of building nuclear power plants in HK in the Panel Discussion. Guests of the Panel Discussion included legislative Councilor Ms. Cyd Ho Sau-lan and Ms. Tanya Chan.

The forum is organized by WWF – Hong Kong, co-organized by Department of Management Sciences of City University of Hong Kong and Hong Kong Productivity Council. Other guest speakers included Dr. Anne Arquit Niederberger, Director of Policy Solutions, Switzerland & U.S.A.; Dr. William Chung, Associate Professor of Department of Management, City University of Hong Kong and Larry Chow, Director of Hong Kong Energy Studies Centre of Hong Kong Baptist University. They shared foreign energy policies and experiences.

Dr. William Yu, Head of Climate Programme, WWF-Hong Kong said, “The recent radiation leak in Daya Bay reminded us of the potential hazard of nuclear energy. WWF urges the government to withdraw the additional nuclear plan and go for a better option, which is simply adopting demand side management to achieve emissions reduction targets. We can reduce energy use through legislating building codes, tightening the energy efficiency standards and providing the public with economic incentives.”

WWF, together with Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth, launched a “One person one letter” petition to urge the government to adopt demand side management to tackle climate change. WWF alone has already collected 2,000 signatures in the first week. The three green groups will also organize joint actions, to urge the HKSAR government to implement active energy consumption reduction measures.

The recently announced public consultation on “Hong Kong’s Climate Change Strategy and Action Agenda” has failed in a serious attempt to reduce the overall energy consumption for Hong Kong. Recklessly increasing the nuclear power in the fuel mix in order to achieve the carbon emission target proposed by the government is instead putting the cart before the horse.

Public can sign up to WWF’s petition letter (wwf.org.hk/nonuclear) to voice complaints and demands directly to the Environmental Bureau. The petition aims to receive 10,000 signatures before the consultation period ends in early December.