PM invites Loh for meeting
Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen has invited international climate experts to attend two rounds of meetings in Copenhagen - and among them will be Christine Loh Kung-wai, chief executive of the Civic Exchange think-tank.
Her campaigning on environmental matters has been noticed by the Danish government which is keen to further its position as a world pioneer in wind-power technology. The former legislator has been invited to the second round of meetings in June.
Ms Loh said both meetings were intended to let participants 'discuss and analyse key issues in the UN inter-governmental negotiations concerning a global climate agreement'.
About 15 to 20 experts are expected to attend each meeting. Some of the more prominent figures include Sir Nicholas Stern, Robert Stavins from Harvard University, Nobuo Tanaka from the International Energy Agency and Indian scientist Rajendra Pachauri.
Ms Loh said that the agenda for discussions would be set by the Danish host, but that the major themes will cover climate change negotiations and incentives to further technology transfer and economic incentives in the post-2012 Kyoto Protocol, a protocol that deals with policies for greenhouse gas reduction.
'Denmark's environmental performance is about mid-range of OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries,' Ms Loh said. 'I believe that the Danes do not regard their environmental conditions as good enough, and are making efforts to do better ... [and] be at the top of OECD countries.'
She said Denmark had made considerable advances in environmental planning and one of the country's greatest environmental achievements was its decision to impose a carbon tax on energy products. It is one of the few countries to do this.
She said she was pleased with the Danish prime minister's decision to hold the discussions and hoped Hong Kong could learn from this move. 'Perhaps Hong Kong, too, can invite experts ... to brief the head of our government, such that it can evaluate the ways in which our city may stand as a leader in climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies,' she said.
