Facing Extreme Weather
2017 and 2018 were horrific years for extreme climate events. Unprecedented monsoon rains and floods, as well as cyclones and hurricanes, affected many parts of the world, causing many fatalities, injuries and destruction of property. In 2017, Hong Kong and South China experienced severe typhoons, three of which hit in the space of a week – with one causing serious disruptions to Macao. Monsoon rains in India, Bangladesh and Nepal caused serious flooding that affected millions of people. Hurricane ‘Harvey’ destroyed parts of Texas, and ‘Irma’ left a trail of destruction in the Caribbean and Florida. Extreme climate events did not let up in 2018. Japan experienced deadly floods; the United States suffered devastation as a result of hurricane ‘Florence’; and Hong Kong and South China experienced severe typhoon ‘Mangkhut’ that also left a trail of destruction. As scientists predict stronger storms in the coming decades due to climate change, the events of 2017 and 2018 hold many lessons on vulnerabilities of both developed and developing economies.
The Climate Adaptation and Resilience (CARe2018) Hong Kong Conference – will bring together a wide range of experts and stakeholders from across the globe, across industry and business sectors, as well as from local and regional authorities to learn and examine what it would take to make cities and regions much more climate resilient. There will need to be new multidiscipline policies and public and private investments to defend against extreme weather events. The conference will showcase policies and practices that promote infrastructure investments that would bring about greater resilience that strengthens cities and regions; as well as good practices for public sector officers and communities to learn and reorganise to face climate change challenges.
Climate Policy Relevant Conference
CARe2018 aims to be policy relevant for public and private sector decision-makers and stakeholders.
The Institute for the Environment, Division of Environment and Sustainability, Energy Institute, GREAT Smart Cities Center, and Institute for Public Policy of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) are co-organizing CARe2018. Organising partners include other divisions of HKUST to achieve the multidisciplinary objective that are necessary to deal with climate change adaptation and resilience. Moreover, the relevant bureaux and departments of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Government are also Supporting Organisations.
Design of Conference
The conference will engage people and institutions that are working on climate change issues ranging from top-level decision-making to regulatory, managerial, finance, scientific, academic, professional, philanthropic, education, communication and community positions. The conference design and structure will enable participation where their respective expertise and interests are most relevant. The discussion and results will be published in a policy relevant report.