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Saturday, Feb 22, 2025
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Govt hits back at criticism of Kau Yi Chau Artificial Islands at risk of submerging
The Development Bureau on Thursday hit back at criticism of the Kau Yi Chau Artificial Islands development and stressed that it is unreasonable to assume the artificial islands would be submerged due to the rising sea levels over the next couple of hundred years.
It is understood that the Bureau is referring to the comments made by the former director of the Hong Kong Observatory Lam Chiu-ying on Tuesday. Lam said in an interview with the environmental group Greenpeace that the sea level would still continue to rise for hundreds of years or even for ten centuries.
He warned that the HK$580 billion Kau Yi Chau Artificial Islands development would then be submerged and generate a crisis rather than solving the problem of future housing supply.
The Development Bureau said it is unrealistic to use hundreds of years or even 1000 years to project the levels of the rising seawater, and it is not aligned with international norms.
It stated that advanced countries and territories tend to use the authoritative assessment of sea level change by the year 2100, conducted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change - a body of leading climate scientists convened by the United Nations, to plan for infrastructure development.
The Bureau further added that it even used the assessment of sea level change by the year 2150 for reference when reviewing the coastal risks for the Kau Yi Chau Artificial Islands project.
He warned that the HK$580 billion Kau Yi Chau Artificial Islands development would then be submerged and generate a crisis rather than solving the problem of future housing supply.
The Development Bureau said it is unrealistic to use hundreds of years or even 1000 years to project the levels of the rising seawater, and it is not aligned with international norms.
It stated that advanced countries and territories tend to use the authoritative assessment of sea level change by the year 2100, conducted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change - a body of leading climate scientists convened by the United Nations, to plan for infrastructure development.
The Bureau further added that it even used the assessment of sea level change by the year 2150 for reference when reviewing the coastal risks for the Kau Yi Chau Artificial Islands project.
