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Opinion | Why Hong Kong must get to grips with AI, the climate and geopolitics
- Hong Kong must be literate and competent on these top three global dangers to stay current and take the lead in climate adaptation, regional AI standards and bridge-building in a fracturing world
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To future-proof itself – in other words, to not become obsolete – Hong Kong must enhance the city’s literacy and competency on three key issues – artificial intelligence (AI), climate sustainability and the geopolitical landscape.
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These have been identified in the World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report 2024 as the top three dangers facing the world. The report also calls for more collaboration in the face of growing global fractures.
First, we should recognise that the extreme weather caused by climate change is here to stay and galvanise our resolve to tackle and adapt to the new normal. One local example was the severe black rainstorm last September, which Hong Kong officials described as a “once-in-500-years” event, and which led to one death and 117 injured, with cars, shopping centres and properties damaged by the flooding.
In his policy address last year, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu laid out for the first time a plan for Hong Kong to deal with extreme weather events, such as by using big data and reviewing contingency plans. These are important first steps.
While infrastructure is important to help safeguard public safety, we must recognise that nature is also part of our “infrastructure”. Hong Kong needs a whole-of-society approach for the population to adapt to extreme weather and to harness public wisdom on the potential for climate-related economic opportunities.
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The government published its road map on the popularisation of electric vehicles in 2021, which set a target of phasing out internal combustion engine and hybrid vehicles by 2035.
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