The outlook for Hong Kong's sustainable development sparked heated debate yesterday among members of the public, environmental science students, government officials and corporate bigwigs.
The event, the first inter-university forum set up to discuss environmental innovation, saw a gathering of minds to discuss energy, architectural design and environmental protection policies.
Jessie Zhang, a first-year environmental science masters student at the University of Hong Kong, said having good technology and products was insufficient, as changing public perceptions was also part of the work.
The event's chairwoman, Zhang, 24, said she spoke from her experience of helping to establish the local offices of United States-based electric carmaker Tesla.
'Innovation is not just about technology but innovation that changes people's minds,' she said.
'For example, a lot of people were talking about how to find new renewable sources of energy, but then someone said, 'Why don't we just think of better ways to use what we have?''
The three-hour forum, organised by 22 students from five universities, was opened by former environment secretary Dr Sarah Liao Sau-tung. More than 200 people attended.