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The Secretary for the Environment, Mr Edward Yau, today (June 10, German time) attended the C40 Workshop 2010 in Berlin to share with participants Hong Kong's experience in formulating strategies to tackle climate change.
Mr Yau said the C40 Workshop provided a platform for experience sharing and exchanges and helped foster closer collaboration among C40 member cities, noting that Hong Kong could also learn from the experience of Berlin in hosting the event. The C40 Workshop will be held in Hong Kong in November this year.
In the morning, Mr Yau attended the opening ceremony of the C40 Workshop, titled "Strategies for Highly Efficient Cities", at which the Governing Mayor of Berlin, Mr Klaus Wowereit, and the Chairman of C40, Mayor David Miller of Toronto, gave the opening remarks.
Mr Yau then joined the discussion session with high-ranking representatives of C40 cities on the potential and implementation of regulatory measures and exchanged views on charting strategies to meet the challenges of climate change.
During the opening plenum, he gave a presentation on Hong Kong's vigorous action agenda in combating climate change and reducing carbon emissions. These measures included the promotion of environment-friendly vehicles and a low-carbon lifestyle as well as a package of measures to improve the energy efficiency of buildings. He stressed that the momentum of the city's efforts on these fronts would continue to be stepped up.
Following the workshop, Mr Yau had lunch with representatives of the Federation of the German Waste, Water and Raw Materials Management Industry and the German Association of Renewable Energy, and exchanged views on energy and resource conservation.
In the afternoon, he toured REWE Group's award-winning green building, a sustainable supermarket with various green features. He said he was impressed with its carbon-neutral design and the use of solar and thermal energy in protecting the environment.
Mr Yau will host a dinner later this evening, titled "Berlin meets Hong Kong", jointly with the Governing Mayor of Berlin, Mr Klaus Wowereit, for all C40 Workshop participants.
Ends/Thursday, June 10, 2010
Issued at HKT 19:00
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