‘Join hands’ across globe for green and sustainable future, Hong Kong finance chief Paul Chan and California official say

City’s finance chief and California’s secretary for environmental protection Yana Garcia call for political differences to be put aside at a University of Hong Kong forum

Garcia says that collaboration at the subnational level is important due to the constantly shifting geopolitical dynamics

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Attendees at the first Greater Bay Area Climate Action and Cooperation forum hosted by the University of Hong Kong. Finance chief Paul Chan and California’s secretary for environmental protection Yana Garcia spoke at the event. Photo: Handout

Published: 6:32pm, 25 Mar 2024Updated: 5:03pm, 26 Mar 2024

Nations need to put aside political differences and foster more “subnational” partnerships when it comes to climate change, Hong Kong’s financial secretary and the environmental minister of the US state of California have said.

Finance chief Paul Chan Mo-po and Yana Garcia, California’s secretary for environmental protection, were speaking on Monday at a forum hosted by the University of Hong Kong to promote collaboration on climate change and clean energy between the Greater Bay Area and the US state, two economic powerhouses.

In his opening remarks, Chan said people should join hands across the world to be 100 per cent committed to a green and sustainable future.

“We need to put political differences and upheavals aside and work together to address urgent climate change issues,” he said. “If we don’t share the responsibility to act now, we will surely share the consequences of inaction later. We must act in concert.”

Financial Secretary Paul Chan says the world should commit to a green and sustainable future. Photo: Handout

Chan added that finance and technology would be “key forces driving green transition” in the future and called for the scrapping of trade restrictions on new green technologies.