Speech by CS at Handover Ceremony of Chair of C40 (English only) (with photos/video)

Speech by CS at Handover Ceremony of Chair of C40 (English only) (with photos/video)
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     Following is the speech delivered by the Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Henry Tang, at the Handover Ceremony of Chair of C40, at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre this (November 6) morning:

Mayor (David) Miller, Mayor (Michael) Bloomberg, Your Royal Highness (Princess Birgitta), Distinguished members of C40 cities, ladies and gentlemen,

     Good morning.

     It is an honour for Hong Kong to witness the handover ceremony for the C40 chairmanship.

     First of all, let me ask you to join me in thanking Mayor Miller for your strong leadership and all the achievements you have made for C40 during the past two years.

     David has successfully engaged C40 cities to share our best environmental practices and, more importantly, to take collective action in combating climate change.

     David, thank you very much for your hard work and your new initiatives while you are in the Chair of C40.

     The second order of business is to congratulate New York City Mayor Mr Michael Bloomberg on taking up the C40 chairmanship.

     Mike needs no introduction.

     His leadership in driving many new initiatives in New York City is already a great source of inspiration for everyone of us.

     We look forward to working alongside with you to meet the challenges of climate change. Under your capable leadership, and with the commitment and support of all of you here, the C40 will continue to scale new heights for environmental protection and conservation.

     Needless to say, Hong Kong is proud to be hosting its first C40 Workshop.

     Around 200 city officials, senior representatives and experts from over 30 cities around the world are here for this Workshop.  They are joined by around 120 officials from the cities and provinces of the Mainland of China.

     This is a great meeting of minds.  This meeting of minds from everywhere will help us achieve our goal of "Low Carbon Cities for High Quality Living".

     Some cities have enacted legislation to reduce emissions from buildings; others are switching to renewable energy sources for residents and businesses.  Many recycling and composting waste projects are on-going, and the potential of "green" transportation is huge.

     Indeed before we came into this meeting, I was discussing with a number of city leaders about renewable energy - how each city deals with its own energy consumption and their aim to raise the percentage of renewable energy.  It's indeed very impressive.  Hong Kong has a lot to learn on that front.

     But for all of us, there is no "one-size-fits-all".  We are all aiming to become successful low carbon cities. We all have to deal with the limitation and challenges of each of our own cities in our own way.  We have to strike the right balance in order to achieve a higher sustainable growth.

     Hong Kong will continue to work within the C40 group, we will continue to work with other cities and we will learn from each other - particularly those in the Mainland of China - in order to reduce emissions and tackle climate change together.

     We look forward to playing an important and constructive role in helping to meet the C40 goals.

     Finally, I would like to wish Mayor Bloomberg, Mike, and the rest of his C40 team every success during your term.

     Thank you very much.

Ends/Saturday, November 6, 2010
Issued at HKT 13:14

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