Hong Kong prepares to weather effects of climate change
Hong Kong will take stock of its efforts to adapt to extreme weather brought about by a warming planet, in order to assess its resilience to the effects of climate change, the environment undersecretary said.
Hong Kong will take stock of its efforts to adapt to extreme weather brought about by a warming planet, in order to assess its resilience to the effects of climate change, the environment undersecretary said ahead of an international climate conference.
Undersecretary Christine Loh Kung-wai said the city needed to understand its long-term preparedness and where the risks lay as the earth's atmosphere changed.
"We need to find out where we stand in resilience, and where the gaps are," Loh told reporters at a media luncheon yesterday.
An examination of the city's prior efforts would help the government understand what actions it must take and what hardware it still needed, she said.
Some of those efforts include enlarged sea walls to deal with rising sea levels and measures to prevent landslides associated with increased rainfall.
"Every term of government should be ready to review these actions … every five or 10 years," she said.
The three-day conference, titled Urban Adaptation to Climate Change: Building Resilience in Hong Kong and Asian Cities, begins next Thursday.
