Delegation to coming COP28 will discuss how Hong Kong can help save the planet: climate change commissioner

Authorities will discuss how Hong Kong can 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 return to the 28th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP28) after years of absence would bring in innovations and new concepts to better deal with environmental issues. Further details about the Hong Kong delegation will be announced soon.

“This will be an excellent opportunity for Hong Kong to talk about how the city is tackling climate change, including green finance,” Wong said following a conference on sustainability hosted 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 take place in Dubai from November 30 until December 12, aims to assess progress of global efforts to combat climate change.

Before the summit’s opening, the United Nations is expected to publish its two-year evaluation of global efforts to turn the tide on climate change. Known as “Global Stocktake”, the review was first 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 in reducing carbon emissions at this year’s conference. The Paris Agreement, an international climate change treaty which China signed in 2015, also applies to Hong Kong.

According to the climate change commissioner, Secretary for Environment and Ecology Tse Chin-wan will lead the city’s delegation to Dubai.

The Post has reached out to the Environment and Ecology Bureau for comments.

Hong Kong’s participation in COP28 is the first after a years-long hiatus due to 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 climate actions.

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Before the pandemic, Hong Kong authorities took part at the summit as part of the delegation representing China, including COP21 in Le Bourget in 2015, when the Paris Agreement was signed.

Earlier, the Financial Services Development Council government advisory body and Friends of the Earth said they would host the first forum at the summit to speak about blockchain technology and the city’s positioning as a “premier regional green finance hub”.