We went to the Grantham Lecture held by Imperial
College, where Christiana Figueres of United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change was the speaker for the night. She once again
highlighted the importance of the whole world’s attention to climate change and
how society as a whole should adapt for climate change.
To summarize her speech, there are five key
take-home messages: 1) action to adapt and against climate change has strong
positive aspects to everyone in the world; 2) the COP21 agreement should have
happened 10 years ago, and our actions have to speed up to meet the fast pace
of climate change, as the world that goes above 2°C is systemically uninsurable;
3) it is vital to include women in decision-making on all other aspects of
climate change; 4) there should be an inclusive approach where all relevant
stakeholders (especially the private sector, universities and the funders) are included
in the conversations about climate change and the delivery of actions; 5) there
is imbalance in consequences: e.g. those who contribute most to climate change
(e.g. the big economies) does not receive the most negative impacts (e.g. small
pacific islands).
However, she was also optimistic about the current progress
of climate change adaptations, and that she expects the agreement of COP21 can come
into force before the expected 2020.
In summary, climate change adaptation and actions
against its fast progress should be central in all science and technology developments
and policy decisions. This complements decisions for disaster risk reduction,
as disaster risk is exacerbated by climate change. The vulnerable populations,
risks and the measures against them are all similar. In Hong Kong, there has
always been attention on protecting the environment, and an increasing dialogue
for disaster preparedness and climate change adaptation. An interdisciplinary
platform sharing both sides of expertise could be established for the
sustainable development of the city.
Watch the recording:
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