The proposed artificial island off Lantau raises several important issues, which the Hong Kong government and its advisers seem to be ignoring (“Hong Kong ‘could make trillions of dollars’ in Lantau reclamation deal”, October 22). The UN’s latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report unequivocally states that we have just 12 years to reduce our carbon emissions by 45 per cent to minimise severe climate disruption (“Hong Kong’s annual global warming bill is HK$22 billion”, but do we have the will to pay it?”, October 21). At least 97 per cent of climate scientists attribute most global warming since 1950 to human activity.

Food will inevitably be negatively impacted and meat and fish consumption, along with the consumption of materials, will urgently need to be drastically reduced, as will the creation of plastic waste in particular. The continued pursuit of ever-increasing economic growth under the current consumption model is frankly suicidal.