Hang Lung pushes for faster decarbonisation in Hong Kong and China’s construction industry

The construction industry needs to see faster progress on regulations and pilot programmes to boost the uptake of low-carbon materials and technology to accelerate the sector’s decarbonisation in Hong Kong and mainland China, according to Hang Lung Properties.

“The policy environment matters a lot, because we can only rely on the industries to move things so far so fast,” said John Haffner, deputy director of sustainability at the developer, which is active in Hong Kong and the mainland.

China aims to reach peak carbon emissions by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060. Steel-making accounts for about 15 per cent of the nation’s emissions.

“Policies can help put a price on pollution and raise the cost of high-emission materials and processes, then everything gets easier for adoption of lower carbon alternatives,” Haffner said.