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The Secretary for the Environment, Mr Wong Kam-sing, leading a Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government delegation, attended the 2015 Macao International Environmental Co-operation Forum & Exhibition (MIECF) in Macau this morning (March 26) to share views with government authorities, professionals and academia, as well as representatives from green sectors, on the policies, latest technologies and experiences on the prevention of air pollution and mitigation of climate change, thereby exploring opportunities for environmental collaboration in the region.
The 2015 MIECF is themed "Green Economy, Solutions for Clean Air". Mr Wong officiated at the opening ceremony of the event with other guests in the morning and also toured the exhibition booths with the delegation.
Afterwards, Mr Wong and the delegation met with the Secretary for Transport and Public Works of the Macau Special Administrative Region, Mr Raimundo Arrais do Rosˆhrio, to discuss with him the challenges on different environmental fronts in the two places, including the air pollution control and improvement measures of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau, as well as waste management.
He then attended a networking luncheon hosted by the Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute.
In the afternoon, Mr Wong visited the Macao Meteorological and Geophysical Bureau to understand more about the operation of the Taipa Grande monitoring station. The monitoring station joined the Regional Air Pollution Network in September last year to improve the geographical coverage and spatial representation of the regional air quality monitoring network, which was subsequently renamed as the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Pearl River Delta Regional Air Quality Monitoring Network. A significant achievement of environmental collaboration among the three places, it provides people in the three places with more comprehensive real-time air quality information and the governments of the three places with a robust scientific basis for mapping out relevant policies.
Mr Wong then visited the green campus and facilities at the University of Macau (Hengqin campus). The university campus has been constructed with environmentally friendly and non-polluting materials. The buildings have been designed to utilise daylight, natural ventilation, sunlight shading and heat insulation to reduce energy consumption, and various energy-saving systems have also been installed. A sewage treatment facility has been built to treat the domestic sewage generated in the campus. The reclaimed water is used for irrigation and in water bodies in the campus.
After joining a green dinner hosted by the Macau Special Administrative Region Government this evening, Mr Wong and the delegation will conclude the visit and return to Hong Kong.
Ends/Thursday, March 26, 2015
Issued at HKT 18:39
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