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CUHK Jockey Club Initiative Gaia today (25 January) held a forum titled “Carbon Audit and Reduction”, in the Boys’ & Girls’ Clubs Association of Hong Kong, Wanchai. At this forum under the “Environment and Climate Change Forum Series”, speakers from the engineering and environmental fields shared views and discussed the importance of carbon emission reduction and measures to reduce emissions with about 110 participants from public or private sector organisations, local schools and tertiary institutions. 

The forum was chaired by Professor LEUNG Yee, Director of the Institute of Environment, Energy and Sustainability, CUHK.  Ir Conrad T C WONG, JP, Chairman of the Hong Kong Green Building Council, was the keynote speaker.  The panelists included Ir Kenny WONG, Principal Consultant (Environmental Management) of the Hong Kong Productivity Council; Dr William YU, Chief Executive Officer of the World Green Organisation; and Mr Benny TAM, Director of Estates Management, CUHK. 

At the forum, Ir Conrad T C Wong pointed out that conducting carbon audit could help understand carbon emission and devise plans for improvement.  He also introduced the basic concepts and procedures of carbon auditing.  He stressed that the quality of life and environmental protection are not mutually exclusive, they can go together hand in hand.  Ir Wong illustrated the latest green building technologies in Hong Kong, through the example of the “CIC Zero Carbon Building”, for which the Secretary for the Environment, Mr Wong Kam Sing, had been actively involved in the design process. 

Many participants raise questions regarding carbon audit and some exchanged views with the speakers on Hong Kong’s environmental development during the Question and Answer session. 

CUHK Jockey Club Initiative Gaia 

CUHK Jockey Club Initiative Gaia is a 5-year community engagement programme launched in 2012 by CUHK, with a generous donation of HK$54 million by The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust. Committed to paving a sustainable future for Hong Kong, the programme aims at promoting environmental conservation and sustainability in local communities, through public education and carbon reduction partnerships with schools and non-governmental organizations. 

Environment and Climate Change Forum Series

Hong Kong’s environmental development has reached a new stage recently because of the rising environmental awareness of the community, together with the proactive policies implemented by the government.  In order to draw on collective wisdom and to encourage active public participation in pro-environment activities, CUHK Jockey Club Initiative Gaia has organized the “Environment and Climate Change Forum Series” with funding support of the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust.  Experts and practitioners from different fields and the public will be involved to confer on the best ways to deal with environmental challenges and impacts of climate change. 

Carbon Audit

Conducting carbon audit could account for the greenhouse (GHG) emissions of a building, which helps building users, owners and managers to understand the building’s GHG performance, which is useful to formulate reduction plans.  Data collected from the carbon audit could reflect the effectiveness of green measures and policies and could help to adjust or identify areas of improvement. 

More details of the CUHK Jockey Club Initiative Gaia can be found at www.cuhk.edu.hk/gaia.