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The following is issued on behalf of the Environmental Campaign Committee (ECC):
Mayors and representatives from over 30 C40 cities, overseas experts, representatives from the trades, government officials and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) today (November 5) took part in the C40 Hong Kong Workshop to share their strategies and experience in combating climate change, focusing on green transport and a low carbon built environment.
The C40 Hong Kong Workshop is a two-day event organised by the Environmental Campaign Committee (ECC), the Civic Exchange and the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, with funding support from the Environment and Conservation Fund.
The Chief Executive, Mr Donald Tsang, addressed the opening plenary session at the Workshop. He extended a warm welcome to all the participants and overseas delegates and wished them a fruitful exchange which would help strengthen cities' capabilities in tackling climate change. The Chair of C40 and Mayor of Toronto, Mr David Miller, expressed his gratitude to Hong Kong for supporting the Workshop. Secretary for the Environment, Mr Edward Yau, then joined other C40 officials in the "World Cities Roundtable" discussion.
In addition, Mr Sun Zhen, Deputy Counsel (DDG-level) of the Department of Climate Change, National Development and Reform Commission and the Mayors / Vice-Mayor from Changsha, Kunming and Shenzhen, held a session entitled "The China Perspective", to discuss the challenges of developing a low carbon economy in Chinese cities.
C40 is an international alliance with a membership of 40 major cities which is committed to reducing carbon emissions with firm action. Participating and affiliate cities share their experience and strategies in tackling climate change.
By hosting the C40 Workshop, Hong Kong can enhance public awareness on climate change and provide a valuable platform for representatives and experts from cities worldwide to exchange their experience of promoting building energy efficiency and green transportation, including the strategies and opportunities in promoting the wider use of electric vehicles.
The C40 Hong Kong Workshop discussed two major topics, buildings and transportation, which fit our local context as both are major sources of our greenhouse gas emissions. Representatives from Hong Kong spoke at the workshop of their efforts in reducing emissions and promoting a low carbon lifestyle.
The Workshop also included keynote speeches from C40 cities and experts, panel discussions involving government officials, professionals, business representatives and prominent social figures, and group discussion sessions.
About 80 distinguished international, Mainland and local contributors were invited to speak or moderate at the Workshop. They are experienced leaders in their fields and come from a variety of backgrounds, including city government officials, policy-makers, experts from various industries, academics, professionals, NGO representatives and business leaders. Their biographies are available at climate.dialogue.org.hk/index.php/en/speaker . Many of the overseas speakers have taken the opportunity of their Hong Kong visit to share their insight on the topic of climate change with other stakeholders in the community, including the business, academic and cultural sectors. This will help deepen the discussion of climate change in the community.
The C40 Hong Kong Workshop will continue tomorrow (November 6) with the attendance of the Chief Secretary, Mr. Henry Tang. He will preside over the handover ceremony of C40 Chairmanship, and there will be more in-depth discussion on a variety of topics throughout the day. More details can be found at the workshop's website at climate.dialogue.org.hk .
As an associated event, a group of young people will hold the "Get it Green" Youth Summit to discuss low carbon lifestyle and climate change at the Amphitheatre of the Academy of Performing Arts on Sunday (November 7) afternoon.
Ends/Friday, November 5, 2010
Issued at HKT 16:24
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