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CUHK Jockey Club Initiative Gaia (Gaia) is holding the MoCC Environment Fair 2017 on Earth Day today and tomorrow (22–23 April) at Cityplaza in Taikoo Shing. The theme of the Environment Fair is ‘Climate Action’. Admission to the Fair is free. All are welcome.

Officiating at the opening ceremony today were Mr Wong Kam-sing, Secretary for the Environment of the HKSAR Government, Mr Leong Cheung, Executive Director, Charities and Community of The Hong Kong Jockey Club, Prof. Joseph Sung, Vice-Chancellor and President of The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), Dr Rebecca Lee, Founder of the Polar Museum Foundation, and Prof. Fok Tai-fai, Pro-Vice-Chancellor of CUHK and Chairman of the Steering Committee of Gaia.

Professor Sung expressed his gratitude for the continued support to Gaia from the Environment Bureau (ENB), the school sector, the green industry and related organisations over the past five years. He said, ‘With staunch support from the Jockey Club, in the future, CUHK will continue to use the Jockey Club Museum of Climate Change (MoCC) as a platform to proactively promote environment conservation and foster “Climate Action” in different areas and at different levels in Hong Kong.’

Mr Cheung said the Jockey Club had supported many new environmental protection projects in recent years, encouraging NGOs to develop these projects with innovative thinking. ‘In the second half of this year, the Club will launch a new project with a green group to promote household energy saving, helping citizens to develop energy-saving habits with the use of mobile applications,’ he noted. ‘On the hardware side, we actively encourage our partners to include environmental elements in facility design.’

Mr Wong stressed that the Government was very supportive of environmental protection activities in the community. He said, ‘The government announced Hong Kong’s Climate Action Plan 2030+ in January this year, setting the carbon reduction target for 2030 and the key measures on mitigation, adaptation and resilience to combat climate change. The Government is proactively working with different sectors of the community and the general public to pave the way for low-carbon living. Let’s take action together to knock out the notorious Big Waster through carbon and waste reduction in our daily lives in respect of clothing, food, accommodation and travel, and support quantity-based municipal solid-waste charging.’

A successful community-based climate action initiative by Gaia, called the Carbon Reduction Project, was introduced to the public at the opening ceremony. The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust made a donation of over HK$13.6 million to upgrade energy saving facilities in 37 schools and two NGOs in 15 districts throughout Hong Kong. The project will help the schools and NGOs reduce carbon emissions by over 540 tonnes and electricity consumption by a million kWh a year, and save electricity expenses of over HK$1.2 million annually.

The MoCC’s annual Environment Fair promotes green messages to the public through interactive information and game booths. The 2017 Fair saw the first public performance of an original play presented by the ENB and the MoCC, The Drama of Climate Change, performed by the Chung Ying Theatre Company, which was warmly received. The ‘green demos’ by MoCC interns showed the public how to ‘upcycle’ unwanted materials and turn them into new products, inspiring climate action at the individual level.

Several of Gaia’s strategic partners have been invited to showcase their green initiatives and achievements at the Fair. The ENB booth is introducing the ‘Climate Ready@HK’ campaign. The Eastern Community Green Station booth is offering a participatory game to raise environmental awareness. The students from Holy Family Canossian College, winners of the gold award of the Environmental Booth Contest of the Green Leadership Camp 2016, are displaying their winning booth. The Fair is also featuring the MoCC panoramic virtual tour, whose purpose is to enhance environmental awareness at the community level.

CUHK Jockey Club Initiative Gaia

CUHK Jockey Club Initiative Gaia is a five-year community-engagement programme, launched in 2012 by CUHK, with a generous donation of HK$70 million from The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust. In support of Gaia’s commitment to paving the way to a sustainable future for Hong Kong, the programme’s aim is to promote environmental conservation and sustainability in local communities through public education and carbon-reduction partnerships with schools and non-governmental organisations.

The first of its kind in the world, the Jockey Club Museum of Climate Change (MoCC), maintained by Gaia, is open to the public, with free admission. The MoCC showcases the ‘Three Poles’ (the North Pole, the South Pole and Mount Everest) collection of renowned Hong Kong explorer Dr Rebecca Lee, innovative research on the environment, energy and sustainability initiated by CUHK, and the Jockey Club’s initiatives to promote green living in the community.

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