Hong Kong’s total carbon gas emissions have dropped by 35 percent since they peaked in 2014, the city’s environment chief said on Tuesday.

Speaking at a side event at the 31st Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP31) in Antalya, Turkiye, Secretary for Environment and Ecology Tse Chin-wan said the special administrative region’s efforts toward achieving deep decarbonization were already delivering results.

“Compared to the peak, in 2024, the total emissions had been reduced by 27 percent. Yesterday, I got the statistics for 2025; it was further reduced by 32 percent,” Tse said.

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He said the Hong Kong SAR’s per capita emissions have gone down by 35 percent to about 4.1 metric tons, which is about 22 percent of the carbon footprint of the United States and Australia, and 33 per cent lower than that of the European Union.

“Therefore, our next targets are to halve the carbon emissions before 2035 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2050,” Tse said.

By 2035, Hong Kong will stop its use of coal for power generation, increase its share of zero-carbon electricity to over 60 percent, stop the registration of new fossil fueled private cars, and end its use of landfills for the disposal of municipal waste.

“So, 2035 will be a very important year to Hong Kong,” Tse said. “Today, we are planning new infrastructure to take up more zero carbon electricity. On electrifying our transport, out of 10 new private cars, over seven are electric.”

Achieving carbon neutrality and building climate resilience demand financial resources, Tse said, adding that the total green and sustainable debt issued in Hong Kong surpassed $76 billion last year.

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This included green and sustainable bonds arranged in Hong Kong that amounted to around $38 billion, ranking the city first in the Asian market for green and sustainable bond issuance for the eighth consecutive year since 2018, he said.

He added that the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd also launched the Core Climate in 2022, an international carbon trading platform that connects capital with climate solutions across the region and facilitates carbon credit trading in both the Hong Kong dollar and renminbi.

“My dear friends, Hong Kong is prepared to work with all parties to meet with the climate challenge,” Tse said. “We are here to bridge the gap between ideas and impact: from science to finance; from carbon markets to climate action; and from promises to results.”