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| Past Events: Public Policy Forums |
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Economic Opportunities of Climate Change
1 November 2018 | 14:30–17:00 | Cho Yiu Conference Hall, CUHK
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Speakers
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Welcome Message
Prof. Fanny M. Cheung
Pro-Vice-Chancellor, CUHK; Co-Director, HKIAPS
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Keynote Speech
Mr Kam-Sing Wong
Secretary for the Environment, HKSAR Government
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Presentation
Prof. Yuan Xu on “Climate Change: Crises and Opportunities”
Associate Professor, Department of Geography and Resource Management, CUHK
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Prof. Ambuj Sagar on “Energy Innovation, Developing Countries and Climate Mitigation”
Head, School of Public Policy, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi
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Dr Jeanne Ng on “Developing a Professional Industry as Part of Green Growth”
Chairman, Hong Kong Institute of Qualified Environmental Professionals
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Mr Mark Clifford on “Greening Asia: New Thinking in China’s Property Sector”
Executive Director, Asia Business Council
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Mrs Alexandra Tracy on “Financial Innovation for Climate Focused Development: Mitigation, Adaptation and Resilience”
President, Hoi Ping Ventures
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Moderator
Prof. Wilson Wong
Associate Professor, Department of Government and Public Administration, CUHK
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Organizers
Policy Research @ HKIAPS
Global China Research Programme, CUHK
MSSc Programme in Public Policy, Department of Government and Public Administration, CUHK
Department of Geography and Resource Management, CUHK
Centre for Business Sustainability, CUHK Business School
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Climate mitigation and adaptation are often understood to be reluctant responses to climate change, as a society is obliged to redirect resources that could have been used for other purposes. Because climate change is a genuinely global environmental problem, countries are often passive about using domestic resources for mitigation. The international climate negotiations that have been conducted in the past two-and-a-half decades have been bumpy and have encountered many setbacks.
However, economic opportunities could also emerge in our response to climate change. New industries, such as wind turbines and solar PV, have grown to provide millions of jobs worldwide. Hong Kong is positioned to benefit from the global climate efforts. These new technologies demand research, as well as financial and legal services, to accelerate innovations. Hong Kong could strategically utilize climate change to strengthen its current economic pillars and nurture its innovation and technology value chains.
To further discuss the potential economic opportunities from climate mitigation and explore possible ways for Hong Kong to take advantage of such opportunities, Policy Research @ HKIAPS co-organized a public policy forum titled “Economic Opportunities of Climate Change”. Government officials, leaders of business sectors, and outstanding scholars from both overseas and Hong Kong were invited to share their insights during the forum.
Prof. Fanny M. Cheung delivered the welcome message, in which she indicated that climate change is a challenge that no government or country can ignore. As can be seen, when there are crises, there are also opportunities. Responding in a timely manner to climate change is how we can position ourselves to take a proactive approach to relieve the adverse effects brought about by it. She thanked the distinguished speakers for sparing no effort to explore the economic opportunities arising from climate change, especially those relating to innovation and technology.
Secretary Wong gave a keynote speech at the forum. He introduced the Steering Committee on Climate Change led by the Chief Secretary for Administration, and gave a detailed introduction to Hong Kong’s Climate Action Plan 2030+. He pointed out that while climate change presents a tremendous challenge for the world, there are many opportunities for co-benefits to be captured alongside climate mitigation and adaptation efforts. Hong Kong, too, can reap many qualitative benefits, including improvements in livability.
In the presentation session, five distinguished speakers offered their opinions on the subject of the forum, and together explored possible ways for Hong Kong to benefit from these opportunities.
More than a hundred people joined the policy forum.
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