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Hong Kong gears up for release of first EV roadmap

2021-01-22

The popularization of electric vehicles is gaining momentum during the pandemic with Hong Kong poised to release its first EV roadmap that will ban sales of fossil fuel cars by 2030 or 2040.

Secretary for the Environment Wong Kam-sing told China Daily that 1 in 8 first-time registered private vehicles in the city in 2020 ran on new energy, more than double the ratio of the year before.

From January through September 2019, 29,024 new private vehicles were registered in Hong Kong, of which only 1,296 were electric vehicles. But the number of new electric vehicles more than doubled in the same period in 2020, as 2,909 out of 25,460 new vehicles in the first nine months of last year used electric motors, according to the Transport Department.

The roadmap, to be released in the first quarter of this year, is part of a bid to improve the city's air quality and achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.
Wong said the spike in EVs is similar to many other cities, as the pandemic makes people more aware of public health and the environment.

The Chinese mainland, which has an extensive application of new energy vehicles in public and private sectors, has been the leader of EVs, Wong said.
Hong Kong is one of the leading cities in Asia in terms of electric vehicle popularization, Wong added.

The transformation to EVs will take time, Wong said, adding that the government needs time to optimize supporting infrastructure, as well as provide new energy vehicles that can be sold and run well in the city.
To solve an acute shortage of charging facilities, the special administrative region government in late October earmarked a HK$2 billion ($258 million) fund to subsidize private residential estates to install charging facilities.
The response to the program is "encouraging", Wong said, adding that more than 100 estates have submitted their applications for the subsidy and hundreds more are preparing to make their applications, which would involve a high percentage of the existing parking spaces.

The roadmap will also support measures to provide adequate charging facilities, recycle vehicle batteries, cultivate manpower for the industry, and support relevant research and development, Wong said.

Apart from the EV roadmap, the bureau will also chart a long-term strategy blueprint on waste management.

Since Wong, an architect by profession, took office in 2012, he has produced blueprints on climate change, energy saving, waste reduction, clean air, and power diversity, listing the strategies, targets and roadmaps in these areas.
Wong says it is important to plan systematically as it will give the private sector reason to tag along, and direction for the public to follow.
kathyzhang@chinadailyhk.com

 


From : ChinaDaily

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