Hong Kong

Hong Kong is believed to be the world's worst city for light pollution, with levels in the popular tourist shopping area of Tsim Sha Tsui, 1,200 times brighter than a normal dark sky. Unlike other world cities - including London, Frankfurt, Sydney and Shanghai - Hong Kong has no laws to control external lighting. The findings were described as shocking by survey leader Dr Jason Pun Chun-shing, of the Department of Physics at the University of Hong Kong, who said he could find nowhere else on earth as badly affected.

Hong Kong should be a walker’s paradise. It is compact and dense, with a large number of amenities concentrated in a very small space. Few errands require the use of a car, and in fact over 90 percent of daily journeys occur on public transportation. Walk Score, a US-based website which calculates walkability based on the proximity and concentration of amenities in a neighborhood, gives much of urban Hong Kong scores of 70/100 or above. Moreover, Hong Kong has a vibrant street food and market culture, boasting areas with enough complexity and variety to keep people entertained for hours. Yet Hong Kongers do not seem to enjoy walking.

Hong Kong-based Symbior Energy has signed an agreement with Chinese solar PV manufacturer Phono Solar to jointly develop 40-MW solar power generating capacity in Thailand.  

It’s been a busy and productive few weeks for both the shipping industry and the Hong Kong government. In his first policy address, Hong Kong Chief Executive CY Leung announced plans to introduce legislation for at-berth fuel switching during the next legislative session, continue discussions with Guangdong officials on extending fuel switching to other places in the Pearl River Delta (PRD), and for shoreside power at the new Kai Tak Cruise Terminal, scheduled to open in June.  

Following on from the pledge to mandate that ocean-going vessels to switching to low sulphur fuel while at berth in Hong Kong, made by Hong Kong Chief Executive CY Leung in his maiden policy address last week, 17 shipping lines have agreed to extend their voluntary pact to use cleaner fuel for another year.