The following is issued on behalf of the Environmental Campaign Committee:

     In support of World Environment Day (WED), the Environmental Campaign Committee (ECC) held the Zero Carbon Fun Fair today (June 11) at the Zero Carbon Building (ZCB) and Kwun Tong Community Green Station (KTCGS) in Kowloon Bay.

     Under the theme "Climate Ready and Low Carbon Living", the event involved a variety of local communal activities related to the environment, with nearly 40 government departments, non-government organisations, green groups, schools and public utilities jointly promoting environmental awareness and low carbon living in various aspects of daily life including clothing, food, living and travel.

     Officiating at the opening ceremony were the Secretary for the Environment, Mr Wong Kam-sing; the Chairman of the ECC, Mr Lam Chiu-ying; the Chairman of the Legislative Council Panel on Environmental Affairs, Miss Tanya Chan; the Permanent Secretary for the Environment/Director of Environmental Protection, Mr Donald Tong, and the Chairman of the MTR Corporation Limited, Professor Frederick Ma. The officiating guests, accompanied by child models wearing second-hand clothing, took part in an eco-fashion walk during the opening ceremony to showcase Ecochic Design Award-winning sustainable fashion by local designers.

     Addressing the event, Mr Wong said that climate change was among the top global agendas and everyone should be "climate ready" and adopt low-carbon living by saving energy and wasting less. He also spoke again of the urgency and importance for all sectors in the community to strive to go low-carbon in combating climate change.

     As one of the event highlights, celebrity Ram Chiang and environmental mascot Big Waster performed the theme song "Climate Ready@HK" along with eight green mascots including Hanson of the Environment Bureau, Keep Clean Ambassador Ah Tak of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department, Water Save Dave of the Water Supplies Department and five other mascots from the Hong Kong Green Building Council, Food Angel, CLP Power Hong Kong Limited, Hongkong Electric Company Limited and the Hong Kong and China Gas Company Limited.

     Three expert sharing sessions were delivered by the Chairman of the ECC, Mr Lam Chiu-ying; former Assistant Director of the Hong Kong Observatory, Mr Leung Wing-mo, and Senior Conservation Officer of the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department, Dr Jackie Yip, to share their insights on climate change, green living and biodiversity conservation respectively. In addition, over 30 green booths and upcycling workshops were set up to promote low-carbon lifestyle in an interactive manner. A variety of other programmes including interactive drama, kids' musicals, a juggling show and a live green music performance were staged to promote low carbon living. Next to the Zero Carbon Building at the KTCGS a "swap party", green workshops and live band shows were staged to further spread the message of "use less, waste less".

     The ECC, the MTR Corporation and the Education Bureau jointly organise the ECC MTR Environmental Award for Schools every year to nurture a sense of care and responsibility for the environment among students, as well as to encourage their creativity in environmental protection. A Green Living Selfie Competition was organised this year to encourage primary and secondary students to promote the green behaviour they practise in everyday life and spread the message of low carbon living. Awards were presented at the opening ceremony to winners of the school competition and the winning entries were also displayed at the event venue.

     The United Nations has been celebrating WED on June 5 every year since 1972 to encourage active worldwide efforts to protect the environment and save the Earth.

     Founded in 1990, the ECC aims to enhance public participation to protect the environment. The ECC holds promotion events for WED every year and organises environmental programmes including the Hong Kong Awards for Environmental Excellence, the Hong Kong Green School Awards and the Student Environmental Protection Ambassador Scheme. Information on the ECC's programmes and activities is available at www.ecc.org.hk.

Ends/Sunday, June 11, 2017
Issued at HKT 13:43

NNNN