Delegation to COP28 in Dubai will discuss how Hong Kong can help save the planet: climate change commissioner
- ‘An excellent opportunity,’ says climate change chief Wong Chuen-fai, describing city’s return to annual UN summit after years-long break
- Secretary for Environment and Ecology Tse Chin-wan will lead delegation to COP28, taking place from November 30 until December 12
Authorities will discuss how Hong Kong can help tackle the global environmental crisis at this year’s UN climate change summit, a city official has said.
Commissioner for Climate Change Wong Chuen-fai on Monday said the city’s participation in the 28th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP28) after years of absence would bring innovations and new concepts to better deal with environmental problems.
“This will be an excellent opportunity for Hong Kong to talk about how the city is tackling climate change, such as green finance,” Wong said after a conference on sustainability organised by the Chinachem Group.
“Our participation has two purposes. The first is to understand the latest developments during the COP discussions. The second is to talk about Hong Kong’s contribution, including measures and efforts made to tackle climate change.”
The conference, to be held in Dubai from November 30 until December 12, was designed to assess progress in global efforts to combat climate change. Before the summit’s opening, the United Nations is expected to publish its two-year evaluation of efforts to turn the tide on climate change. The review was launched at COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland in 2021.
Hong Kong to host first forum at COP28 in bid to promote city as green finance hub
All signatory countries, including China, will have to detail their efforts to cut carbon emissions at this year’s conference. The Paris Agreement, an international climate change treaty which Beijing signed in 2015, also applies to Hong Kong.
Secretary for Environment and Ecology Tse Chin-wan will lead the delegation to Dubai, the climate change commissioner said.
Further details about the Hong Kong delegation will be announced soon, but the Environment and Ecology Bureau had no immediate elaboration to provide.
Hong Kong’s participation in COP28 is the first after a years-long absence because of the Covid-19 pandemic. No city official attended COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, but the bureau said it monitored the meeting and assessed the implications of its outcomes on the government’s plan to tackle climate change.
Hong Kong to host climate forum for US and mainland China, targeting bay areas
Hong Kong authorities took part in the summit before the pandemic as part of the delegation representing the country, including at COP21 in Le Bourget, France in 2015, when the Paris Agreement was signed.
The Financial Services Development Council government advisory body and Friends of the Earth earlier said they would host the first forum at the summit to speak about blockchain technology and the city’s role as a “premier regional green finance hub”.
