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The Jockey Club Museum of Climate Change of The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) held the premiere of Combating Climate Change: Towards a Low-carbon Future last Friday (20 September). Officiating at the premiere were Mr Wong Kam-sing, Secretary for the Environment of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) and Professor Rocky S. Tuan, Vice-Chancellor and President of CUHK. The event drew an audience of over 200, including representatives from environmental and professional organisations, as well as teachers, students and other members of the public.

Supported by the Environment and Conservation Fund (ECF), the Museum launched the two-year environmental educational programme, ECF ‘The Drama of Climate Change and a Low-carbon Future’, in 2018. Combating Climate Change: Towards a Low-carbon Future is one of the signature events of the programme. Produced by the Eco-Education and Resources Centre and the Merit Minds Workshop, the educational drama emphasises a low-carbon diet, and provides information about climate change and environmental issues in a fun-filled interactive way. Targeted at school students, the drama aims to inspire the young audience to take carbon-reducing action and live an environmentally sustainable lifestyle. Schools that participated in the premiere include CUHK FAA Thomas Cheung School, Delia English Primary School and Kindergarten, Dr Catherine F Woo Memorial School and The Salvation Army Tin Ka Ping School. The drama tour will take place between September and December this year, setting out to reach around 10,000 students and teachers.

In his welcome address, Professor Tuan expressed his gratitude to the Environment Bureau for supporting the Museum to initiate this new environmental educational programme. He said, ‘CUHK has put extensive effort into promoting sustainable development in Hong Kong. In 2013, we launched the “Love Food, Hate Waste @CUHK” campaign to reduce food waste and to promote a plant-based, low-carbon diet, in the hope of reducing the carbon footprints of members of our University. We also installed food waste composters to turn meal leftovers into organic compost for greening our campus. We believe that the participation of CUHK members will inspire and motivate the general public to adopt a low-carbon lifestyle.’

Mr Wong said, ‘The HKSAR Government attaches great importance to combating climate change, with a view to meeting the goals set out in the Paris Agreement. According to the Agreement, by 2020, the Government should formulate a long-term decarbonisation strategy for the HKSAR up to 2050. To achieve this goal, the Government invited the Council for Sustainable Development to launch the public engagement on Long-term Decarbonisation Strategy. The public engagement, adopting a bottom-up and stakeholder oriented approach, provides a platform to gauge public views. Today is the last day of the 3-month public interaction phase of the public engagement exercise. The Council for Sustainable Development will collate responses from stakeholders and make suggestions to the Government. The promotion of a low-carbon lifestyle can be achieved only through the joint efforts of all stakeholders. I truly appreciate the endeavours of CUHK in promoting environmental education. I note that today’s play Combating Climate Change: Towards a Low-carbon Future will be enacted in 40 primary schools. I wish the drama tour every success.’

Jockey Club Museum of Climate Change

The Jockey Club Museum of Climate Change (the Museum), funded by The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust (the Trust), was established in December 2013 at The Chinese University of Hong Kong. It is the first museum of its kind in the world, offering an interactive, multimedia exhibition that showcases valuable collections and information about climate change. It is the ideal venue for the public, especially students and teachers, to champion the cause of environmental stewardship and to keep themselves abreast of the latest developments in environmental conservation and sustainability. The Museum has attracted more than 780,000 visitors since its inception.

More details about the Museum can be found at http://www.mocc.cuhk.edu.hk/.