Fifth meeting of Hong Kong/Guangdong Joint Liaison Group on Combating Climate Change held in Guangzhou (with photos)
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For adaptation to climate change:
* The Hong Kong Observatory (HKO) and the Guangdong Meteorological Bureau carried out exchanges on ways to enhance technique levels on short-term climate forecasting in March this year. The scope of discussion included average temperature, total rainfall and tropical cyclone activity;
* The Department of Health (DH), the HKO and the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) provided influenza-like illness data and daily meteorological data as well as data of ambient PM2.5, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, ozone and more to Guangdong counterparts to facilitate Guangdong's development of models for climate warning and indicators of different risk levels of influenza;
* In May this year, the Drainage Services Department (DSD) held an exchange on urban drainage system design and visited the relevant drainage facilities in Hong Kong with representatives from the Department of Housing and Urban-Rural Development of Guangdong Province and the Zhongshan Housing and Urban-Rural Development Bureau as well as representatives of water authorities of six cities, namely Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Foshan, Zhaoqing, Dongguan and Jiangmen; and
* In October 2015, the Civil Engineering and Development Department (CEDD) held an exchange in Hong Kong on the regulations, control and auditing on geotechnical engineering as well as new strategies to cope with extreme weather events and for landslip prevention project design, construction and landscaping with representatives of the Department of Land Resources of Guangdong Province and the Guangming Management Bureau of Urban Planning, Land & Resources Commission of Shenzhen Municipality. A site visit to view natural terrain hazard mitigation and landscape projects was arranged.
For mitigation of climate change:
* The EPD and the GDDRC witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding on co-operation of development of carbon labelling between the China Quality Certification Centre (CQC), Guangzhou Branch and the Chinese Manufacturers' Association of Hong Kong in Guangzhou in March this year. The two certification bodies reached consensus on driving forward the co-operation scope, format and mechanism of the mutual recognition mechanism of carbon labelling for the certification bodies of both sides;
* The EPD and the GDDRC supported both sides' certification bodies on exchanges on green labelling of construction materials. The CQC, Guangzhou Branch and the Hong Kong Construction Industry Council exchanged relevant information in order to explore the feasibility of further co-operation and exchange; and
* In March this year, the EPD held a Greenhouse Gas Measurement, Reporting and Verification (MRV) Workshop in Hong Kong. Experts from both sides shared information on MRV system development and implementation, methodologies of preparing greenhouse gas inventory and MRV workflow to enhance government departments' competence in greenhouse gas emission information management.
The work plan for 2016-17 mainly includes:
For adaptation to climate change:
* Continuing support on co-operation on developing the techniques for short-term climate forecasting;
* Supporting the development of techniques for climatic forecasting and warning of influenza and vector-borne diseases;
* Carrying out further exchanges on urban drainage system design; and
* Continuing the exchanges on slope safety management.
For mitigation of climate change:
* Carrying out further exchanges on certification of low-carbon products by the certification bodies of both sides;
* Carrying out exchanges on near-zero carbon emissions demonstration; and
* Strengthening the relevant exchanges of both sides in the light of the upcoming establishment of the National Carbon Market.
The JLGCCC was set up under the Hong Kong/Guangdong Co-operation Joint Conference in 2011, with a view to co-operating on combating climate change and co-ordinating the relevant measures and activities, as well as promoting related scientific research and technology development. Under the JLGCCC, two working groups have been set up to initiate and take forward co-operation initiatives and enhance exchanges on adaptation to climate change impacts and mitigation measures.
The government bureaux and departments which attended the meeting today included, from Hong Kong, the Environment Bureau, the EPD, the CEDD, the DSD, the DH, the HKO, the Transport Department and the Water Supplies Department, and, from Guangdong, the GDDRC, the Economic & Information Commission, the Department of Science and Technology, the Department of Land Resources, the Environmental Protection Department, the Department of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, the Communications Department, the Water Resources Department, the Department of Agriculture, the Health and Family Planning Commission, the Forestry Department, the Administration of Quality and Technology Supervision, the Bureau of Ocean and Fisheries, the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the People's Government of Guangdong Province, the Provincial Academy of Sciences and the Meteorological Bureau.
Ends/Tuesday, September 27, 2016
Issued at HKT 17:40
Issued at HKT 17:40
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