Environment minister Tse Chin-wan on Thursday said Hong Kong is moving at full speed in its transition towards electric vehicles, in order to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.

Speaking at the ReThink HK forum for industry leaders to discuss sustainability initiatives, Tse said the government hopes to see 700 electric buses and 3,000 electric taxis on the city's streets by 2027.

"With the support of first registration tax concessions for EVs and expansion of the EV charging network, now over 60 percent - actually nearly 70 percent - of the newly registered private cars are EVs in Hong Kong," he said.

"To support the continuous transition to EVs, we are expediting the retrofit of quick charging station facilities and petrol fuelling stations in Hong Kong. Looking ahead, we will accelerate the adoption of commercial EVs."

Tse also said the government has set aside HK$400 million for the Green Tech Fund to support research and development projects that aim to reduce carbon emissions.

"Thirty projects involving a total grant of about HK$130 million from local universities and companies have been approved. These research projects involve a wide range of subjects, including hydrogen fuel storage and release, production of green hydrogen with renewable energy, aqueous batteries for electric vehicles, and production of noise-absorbing metal materials using recycled plastics," he said.

The environment chief also called on different sectors to work together and capitalise on opportunities to move towards carbon neutrality.