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Following is a question by the Hon Emily Lau and a reply by the Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Donald Tsang, in the Legislative Council today (October 9):

Question :

The Administration sent a delegation to attend the World Summit on Sustainable Development (commonly known as the "Earth Summit") held by the United Nations in Johannesburg, South Africa from late August to early September. Regarding the implementation of the principle of "sustainable development", will the Executive Authorities inform this Council :

(a) whether they have identified policy areas for follow-up in the light of the Earth Summit, and of the measures they will take to implement the principle of "sustainable development";

(b) given the Chief Executive's undertaking in the 1999 Policy Address to set up a Council for Sustainable Development which reports directly to him, of the progress achieved so far in this respect; and

(c) whether it will set up a team to be chaired by the Chief Secretary for Administration or the Financial Secretary to coordinate the implementation of the principle of "sustainable development" by various policy bureaux during policy formulation?

Reply :

Madam President,

(a) In very simple terms, sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present age without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs*. To build a sustainable community we need to ensure that the desire to improve our economic and social environment is matched by a commitment to care for our natural environment. As a responsible member of the international community, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government stands ready to concentrate and contribute to a global sustainable future.

The Political Declaration and the Implementation Plan that resulted from the Johannesburg Summit laid down broad principles on a wide range of items. They range from changing unsustainable patterns of production and consumption to establishing institutional framework for sustainable development. A number of these principles involved action at state level, for example ratification of international agreements, such as the Kyoto Protocol. In such cases, we will seek advice from the Central People's Government on whether and how such international obligations should be discharged and extended to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. Regarding areas where non-state level entities can take their own initiatives, such as promoting biodiversity, looking at increased use of renewable energy and adopting local sustainable development strategies, we will consult stakeholders, inside and outside the Government, and the wider community on the way forward.

We recognize that the issue of making Hong Kong a sustainable city cuts across all major policy areas. For this reason, we have introduced a Sustainability Assessment System within the Administration to examine whether new policies and proposals may have bearings on our long-term sustainable development. In particular, this system allows us to oversee the sustainability of our major proposals that may have wider implications across more than one policy area.

We will continue to implement the Sustainability Assessment System and in the light of implementation plan derived in Johannesburg, step up our efforts to work with stakeholders and the community to identify the way forward for a sustainable Hong Kong.

(b) The SAR Government remains committed to establishing a forum whereby stakeholders in the community can provide feedback and advice to the Government on key issues of concern related to sustainable development of Hong Kong. We have also studied overseas examples and experiences in coming up with our own proposals. Following the introduction of the Accountability System of Government, the Chief Executive is considering how the Council for Sustainable Development should feature and should perform its functions under the new system. We hope to make an announcement on the formal establishment of the Council very shortly.

(c) There is already a team within the Government which helps coordinate the implementation of the principle of sustainable development by bureaux and departments during policy formulation. In April last year, with the support of the Finance Committee of this Council, we set up the Sustainable Development Unit in my office to oversee the integration of sustainability principles into new major policies by bureaux and departments. More specifically, since April this year, bureaux and departments must ensure and explain to the Unit the long-term sustainability of their proposals in all their submissions to the Executive Council. The same requirement applies to submissions to the newly established Policy Committee.

Thank you, Madam Chairman.

* Definition developed by the World Commission on Environment and Development in 1987, commonly known as the Brundtland definition.

End/Wednesday, October 9, 2002

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