International Conference on Climate Change (ICCC2014) | Urban Adaptation to Climate Change: Building Resilience in Hong Kong and Asia’s Major Cities.

Welcome Message from Chairs

Welcome to the 3^rd International Conference on Climate Change (ICCC2014). Urban Adaptation to Climate Change: Building Resilience in Hong Kong and Asia’s Major Cities: 27-29th November 2014 at the Grand Hyatt, Hong Kong.

Hosted and organized by the Hong Kong Climate Change Forum (HKCCF), this conference will be an important platform focusing on urban climate impacts, adaptation and resilience options. It will bring together distinguished scientists, policy makers, business leaders, climate experts and their Asian counterparts to share approaches, best practice methods and results. We will explore the challenges and opportunities and the way forward for Hong Kong, the Pearl River Delta (PRD) and Asia’s major cities where climate impacts are increasingly observable and adaptation actions are increasingly required.

Coastal areas, especially heavily populated mega-delta regions in South, East and South-East Asia, will be at greatest risk due to increased flooding from the sea and, in some megadeltas, flooding from the rivers. Photo credit: www. abc.net.au

We are honoured to welcome Mr K.S. Wong, Secretary for the Environment, Dr. Qin Dahe, member of the Chinese Academy of Science, former Co‐Chair Working Group I of the IPCC and Former Director of the China Meteorological Administration. We are also delighted to welcome Prof. Du Xiang Wan, the Vice President of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, Mr Patrick Klugman, Deputy Major of Paris and humbled to welcome again Sir Crispin Tickell, as our key note distinguished speakers. We also welcome many IPCC scientific authors and climate change experts from Hong Kong, across the region and globally and we look forward to hearing their insights.

We are also thrilled that the HKSAR Government for their first time ever, will host a special 2-hour session to highlight their cross departmental work on adaptation with speakers from the HKSAR’s Environment Bureau, Hong Kong Observatory, Drainage Services Department, Civil Engineering and Development Department and the Planning Department, amongst others.

Some of the key issues that will be addressed at ICCC2014 include:

The nature and magnitude of urban risks from climate change in major Asian cities
The need for more timely and accurate early warning systems for extreme weather events
The importance of reinforcing capability for emergency response and recovery
Identification of strategies to advance climate resilient urban infrastructure
Examples from critical infrastructure providers, such as transportation, telecommunication, water, energy and health care, and how they are reinforcing their service and infrastructure recovery capacities
Discussions with town planners, engineers and architects on their approach to choosing well-protected sites and constructing robust infrastructures resistant to typhoons and floods
A highlight of regional partnerships that promote community urban climate resilience in the Asia-Pacific region

As the climate changes, the potential incidence and severity of droughts has been observed in many places worldwide. Photo credit: Low Carbon Partnership

Our two day conference programme includes 18 sessions covering the key areas of climate adaptation and we anticipate informed and expert discussions with Asian policy makers, business leaders and climate professionals from Asia to be one of the key distinguishing features of this conference. We also have a banquet dinner on November 27^th and a site visit to Tai O, Lantau on November 29^th. The conference will be held at the excellent facilities of the Grand Hyatt, 1 Harbour Road, Wanchai, Hong Kong.

The conference will be of great relevance for those responsible for:

Business risk , risk management and continuity
Climate change, sustainability strategy and policy
Buildings, engineering, assets and infrastructure
Supply chain, health and ecological issues

We hope the ICCC2014 provides insights and ideas to help you develop your strategy in meeting the challenges and opportunities of urban climate adaptation and resilience in Asia and Hong Kong. We encourage you to explore our website and look forward to welcoming your participation at the ICCC2014.


Professor KC Ho Chairman of HKCCF		Ir Dr Otto Poon Co-founder, Immediate Past Chairman of HKCCF and Organizing Chair of ICCC2014

Ps: Please note that our conference’s carbon is being measured and offset by Carbon Care Asia – Carbon Audit and Offset Consultant