Enhancing Hong Kong's climate resilience: Integrating climate change into environmental impact assessment

Hong Kong's Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) system currently faces challenges in adequately addressing the pressing issue of climate change, as evidenced by recent extreme weather events. This viewpoint article argues for an urgent reform of Hong Kong's EIA framework, drawing upon a systematic analysis of 76 EIA reports between 2015 and 2024, global best practices, and stakeholder perspectives. The suggested reforms include amending the EIA Ordinance to explicitly mandate climate change assessment, improving technical guidelines, and promoting a comprehensive, science-based, and participatory approach to integrating climate change considerations into EIAs. This article contributes to the ongoing discussion in Hong Kong on whether to incorporate climate change into the EIA system, providing evidence to support this issue and accelerate its entry into the realm of policy formulation and implementation. By implementing the suggested reforms, Hong Kong can transform its EIA system into an effective tool for climate-responsive decision-making and establish itself as a leader in sustainable urban development, providing a model for other coastal cities facing similar challenges in the context of climate change.