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The Secretary for the Environment, Mr Edward Yau, will attend the C40 Workshop in Berlin, Germany, this week to exchange with member cities strategies in enhancing energy efficiency to tackle climate change.
He will also take this opportunity to foster closer collaboration with C40 member cities as Hong Kong will host the C40 Workshop in November, and to learn more about the latest green technologies in Europe.
Mr Yau will depart Hong Kong for Frankfurt tonight (June 6). On Monday morning (June 7), he will have a breakfast meeting with the Managing Director and Group Sustainability Officer of Deutsche Bank, Professor Hanns Michael Hoelz, and pay a visit to Deutsche Bank's Green Towers to see the energy-saving features there. He will then attend a business luncheon, jointly hosted by the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Berlin and Hong Kong Trade Development Council, to meet German business and community leaders.
In the afternoon, he will visit the MHKW Incineration Plant in Frankfurt to see its modern and environmentally friendly system to transform heat generated from the waste treatment process into renewable energy. He will attend a dinner hosted by the Chinese Consul General in Frankfurt, Mr Wen Zhenshun.
On Tuesday (June 8), Mr Yau will visit the Philological Library at the Free University of Berlin, a renowned example of how technologies can be applied to enhance building energy efficiency.
Mr Yau will meet the Senator for Health, Environment and Consumer Protection of the Federal State of Berlin, Ms Katrin Lompscher, on June 9 (Wednesday) morning to exchange views on environmental protection and he will call on the Chinese Ambassador in Germany, Mr Wu Hongbo, afterwards.
In the afternoon, he will meet Parliamentary State Secretary, Ms Ursula Heinen-Esser, Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, to discuss issues of mutual concern. He will then visit the Urban Sustainable Living Exhibition where he will give an interview to a local TV station on promoting the use of environmentally friendly vehicles in Hong Kong. In the evening, he will join the C40 Workshop Get-together to meet member citiesˇ¦ representatives.
On Thursday (June 10), Mr Yau will attend the opening ceremony of the C40 Workshop, titled "Strategies for Highly Efficient Cities", at Red Town Hall. He will also give a presentation on Hong Kong's experience in tackling climate change during the opening plenum.
In the afternoon, he will tour REWE Group's green building, a sustainable supermarket with various green features. In the evening, he will host a dinner, titled "Berlin meets Hong Kong", jointly with the Governing Mayor of Berlin for all C40 Workshop participants.
On Friday (June 11), Mr Yau will join a session of the C40 Workshop on community energy planning and conservation and share with participants Hong Kongˇ¦s green initiatives. Before departing Berlin for Hong Kong in the evening, he will visit the First Solar Plant at Frankfurt an der Oder.
Ends/Sunday, June 6, 2010
Issued at HKT 17:01
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