It seems a good start for Hong Kong.
So we should expect Wong Kam-sing, whom Lam reappointed as secretary for the environment, to make good on her pledge.
The public needs to hear from him what innovative measures he is proposing to address our critical environmental problems.
Twenty years after the handover, some environmental problems in Hong Kong, such as air and water pollution, have seen improvements.
But others have become worse.
Meanwhile, the recycling rate of our municipal solid waste climbed from 33 per cent in 1997 to 52 per cent in 2010, only to fall back to 35 per cent in 2015.
The decline in recycling rates for plastic waste is even more disappointing.
Waste management has been a perennial challenge for the Hong Kong government.
Since the handover, successive administrations have rolled out three plans: the Waste Reduction Framework Plan (1998-2007); A Policy Framework for the Management of Municipal Solid Waste in Hong Kong (2005-2014); and the 2013 blueprint, which is to last until 2022.
We now expect Wong to be innovative and bold, as promised by the chief executive, to rectify the omissions of the past and resolve Hong Kong’s critical waste problems.