Special Report – Decarbonisation When? How?

By
João Paulo Meneses

Macau Business | March 2023 | Special Report | Decarbonisation. When? How?

A big problem cannot be solved with small ideas

The time will come when all countries and regions will have to do their utmost to combat climate change and achieve decarbonisation.

Macau, which hitherto has shown a rather passive attitude in this respect, will not be left out.

And when it is called upon to effectively contribute, experts point to the installation of wind farms, eventually combined with other renewable sources, by making the most of the 85 square kilometres of waters surrounding the city which were granted to the SAR by the Central Government in December 2015.

So far this ‘gift’ has been closed and underutilized.

However, this situation is unlikely to persist for much longer, as the reader may find throughout the next 20 pages of this special report.

 PS – Macau is facing a general shortage of talent in technical fields, which is due to several factors, including the small size of the city. This lack of experts is hampering the city’s growth and development in various sectors. On the other hand, when it comes to environmental issues, Macau is home to world-class specialists. For instance, Yonghua Song, the rector of the University of Macau, is an internationally recognized authority on energy and low carbon power systems, while Joseph Lee, the president of the Macau University of Science and Technology, is a leading expert in Hydro-Environment Engineering. Macau should not waste these experts who are eager to contribute, as evidenced by their valuable inputs to requests for collaboration from Macau Business.

Co-ordinated by João Paulo Meneses ([email protected])

Decarbonisation: the fear of setting goals

Macau has yet to establish detailed targets towards decarbonization and there is no information on when a comprehensive roadmap will be announced

GHG: The case for adopting a priority regulatory policy

That’s not all. Authorities must strengthen the current energy conservation policy, according to one of Macau’s most authoritative voices on greenhouse gas emissions

Don’t focus only on CO2, look into O3

While other air pollutants reduce their impact, ozone levels remain hazardous.

“Macau has the basic conditions to take the lead in achieving carbon neutrality among other cities in China”

To achieve this goal, several measures are required, including the development of low-carbon or even zero-carbon buildings, states Professor Yonghua Song, one of Macau’s most authoritative voices on decarbonization

Electrification of land transportation

Transboundary pollutants play a major role in the background concentration of Macau, but the city has to play its own role, mainly in transportation sector

Wind energy: “We need to use the 85 km2 of waters”

A revolutionary idea that deserves to be studied. Without the help of these 85 km2, how and where will Macau produce renewable energy in relevant quantity?

More trees, less CO2

Macau lost 29 hectares of trees, which resulted in the emission of about 44 tons of carbon dioxide.

The case for deepening collaboration with the mainland

There is already cooperation between the two regions and Guangdong, but it is necessary to go further to obtain more and better results, say experts.

Waiting for a waste charging scheme

Macau has done a lot to combat the use of plastics, but a step forward is needed

Tackling potable water scarcity

The Greater Bay Area is facing a massive demand for fresh water, and potable water scarcity is a challenge that Guangdong has been dealing with. The Datengxia water conservancy hydropower project, which is currently in the pipeline, is seen as a key step, to be followed by additional measures