Future of Climate Change
- There Is No Planet B: Building A Carbon Neutralized City
Event Details
Online
March 30, 2022 (WED)
2:45 p.m. - 4:15 p.m. HKT
Notice
Registration for the captioned seminar will end at 5 p.m. HKT. on Tuesday, 29 March 2022. All registrants will receive a Zoom/ Facebook Live/ YouTube Live link, depending on the preference indicated, by email shortly after the registration closing time.
The Facebook Live link and The YouTube Live link will also be made available in the Events section of the school website at spc.edu.hk on Wednesday, 30 March 2022, prior to the event.
About
[CANTONESE] Climate change has become a global emergency affecting us all. Global temperature has risen 1.2 degrees Celsius since the Industrial Revolution and time is running out for the target of the Paris Agreement to be met. Extreme weather, sea level rise, biodiversity extinction, health threats and water crisis are only some of the many challenges facing this and future generations. Climate inequality is also a growing challenge as the underprivileged, children and women are disproportionately affected by climate change. Determined and forceful actions in climate mitigation, adaptation and resilience must be taken now.
The Hong Kong Climate Action Plan 2050 sets the goal of energy transformation to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. For example, using new energy, like hydrogen, to generate electricity, reduce wastes, promote public and green transport, as well as green buildings. Achieving carbon neutrality involves sector-wide efforts and individual dedication. On a personal level, we can each contribute by reducing our carbon footprints, and using our own industry expertise to rethink sustainable designs, from engineering to architecture and urban design.
Here in Hong Kong, what can we do to achieve carbon neutrality? How can we apply design thinking to reduce the impact of climate change? What can different sectors contribute to reduce carbon emissions? How can we change our consumption behaviors to reduce wastes?
We only have one Earth. Together we can reduce our own carbon footprint by promoting responsible consumption.
Speakers
Stephen Lau was born in Hong Kong. He graduated from the University of Hong Kong and UCL London. He practiced in the UK and Hong Kong as an Architect. He taught architectural design, later Ph.D. at the University of Hong Kong and the National University of Singapore. He has supervised and graduated 30+ Ph.Ds. so far, with whom they have covered most topics under the realm of sustainability and sustainable design. His green expertise covers ethics, technologies and certification, while his design expertise relates to the phenomenology of architectural design. He has lectured at 60+ universities worldwide. Presently, he is an Honorary Professor of the University of Hong Kong, Tongji University and Southeast University, and a Visiting Professor of Macau University of Science & Technology and Shenzhen University.
Wing-mo Leung, former Assistant Director of the Hong Kong Observatory, is currently the spokesperson of the Hong Kong Meteorological Society. He teaches climate change in various tertiary education institutes in Hong Kong.
Leung is actively involved in environmental issues in Hong Kong. He is a member of the board of directors of the Green Earth and the Conservation E3 Foundation (CE3). He was appointed to various advisory bodies of the government, including the Council for Sustainable Development, and helps formulate the long-term decarbonization strategy in Hong Kong.
While working in the Hong Kong Observatory, he was the first professional meteorologist to host TV weather programs. From 2018 to 2021, he was the host of the popular science TV program, MObservatory (武測天).
Christine Loh, SBS, JP, OBE, Chevalier de l’Ordre National du Mérite. is Chief Development Strategist, Institute for the Environment at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. She was the Undersecretary for the Environment at the HKSAR Government (2012-17) and a former legislator. Professor Loh has a long record in working on environmental and climate change issues going back to the 1980s. She is currently teaching a course on risks at the Anderson School of Management at the University of California at Los Angeles. She is an Advisor to the Hong Kong Science and Technology Park on sustainability issues, a Member of BASF’s Stakeholder Advisory Council, and board member of CDP Worldwide, and also Global Maritime Forum.
Moderator
Chi-ming Shun, SBS. (‘82) was born in Hong Kong, with family roots in Shunde, Guangdong. He graduated from St Paul's College, and from the University of Hong Kong in Bachelor of Science, with major in Physics. He joined the Hong Kong Observatory as Scientific Officer in 1986. He specialized in aeronautical meteorology since the 1990s. In the 2000s, he led a team of researchers to develop the world-first Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) Windshear Alerting System for the HKIA. The system overcame the long-standing problem, faced by the world, of windshear detection under rain-free conditions, winning local awards and international recognition.
Shun was promoted to Director of the Hong Kong Observatory in 2011. Under his leadership, the Observatory achieved remarkable results in the areas of public weather service, aviation weather service, public communication and public education, and won many local and international awards. He retired in 2020.
Shun had taken up several international positions, including the Chairperson of the Meteorology Subgroup of the Asia/Pacific Region of the UN International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) (2003-2009), and the President of the Commission for Aeronautical Meteorology (CAeM) of the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) (2010-2018). He was the first Asian elected to take up this high position in WMO.