Ecological modernisation as a weak form of sustainable development in Hong Kong

Abstract

Hong Kong's response to the imperative of sustainable development has been ambivalent, confused, and lacking in urgency. The principles of sustainable development have been publicly endorsed at the highest political level in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR). However, the SAR stills lacks a sustainable development strategy and has not officially adopted Agenda 21. Nor have any serious attempts been made to embed sustainable development within civil society. Nonetheless, the Government of the HKSAR is beginning to put in place institutional structures to handle sustainability concerns within the policy-making process. Given the ambivalence towards sustainable development in Hong Kong and uncertainty about what it entails, a policy shift towards an ecological modernisation position may find a more receptive audience among local decision-makers and the business community. This paper discusses some of the barriers to the pursuit of sustainable development in Hong Kong but argues that there are now opportunities for a shift towards a new set of policies consistent with ecological modernisation. Such a shift may be seen as a transitional stage in progress towards the formulation and adoption of a more comprehensive framework for sustainability issues in the future. Although we indicate limited action to date, ecological modernisation does provide a path not necessarily inconsistent with the economic aspirations of Hong Kong and may be a useful model to follow in much of the rest of Asia.