Fighting Climate Change From Hong Kong
Climate Change - an issue that has been well documented - is starting to have a visible impact on our lives. With the California wildfires, Australia bushfires and East Asia’s typhoons all worsening, global warming is clearly beginning to affect our day-to-day affairs.
After having realised this, one Hong Kong student, Ernest Yip, decided enough was enough - he needed to help out. As he explains: “We as humans are only now starting to be aware and feeling the tangible consequences of climate change. Personally, as soon as I learned about global warming and climate change, I tried to help out...it really is a pressing issue and we as students have an obligation to get involved.”
Ernest took it upon himself to research about the damage we have caused to the earth and was horrified by what he learned. This led him to further involvement in the issue: “I’ve been a sustainability leader at ESF, managing environmentally-related matters across 22 schools….I generally tend to focus on areas such as solar energy, waste reduction, biodiversity and air management. One of the biggest initiatives I’ve launched was the installation of solar panels across eight schools in the foundation. This is an issue I care a lot about, so I’ve devoted a lot of my spare time towards it.”
While Ernest acknowledges that students should get involved themselves, he also believes that there are other mediums through which the issue should be addressed. He states: “I think in the local community here in Hong Kong, policymakers have been working proactively with the private sector to try and attack the issue of climate change. An example of this is the feed-in tariff, in which the government is installing solar panels at places like NGOs and office buildings.” He continues: “In terms of collaboration, we can do even more…for example, I feel funding for green research and technology is vital. How else will we learn what works and what doesn’t?”
The good news is that we can help out too. Ernest says: “I think we are all capable of making small changes to our daily routine to improve the situation gradually...at the end of the day it’s all about reducing our carbon footprint. That can be achieved with the smallest of changes, like switching off the lights when you aren’t using them, or opening the windows rather than using aircon...every small change can change the status quo and make a difference to the planet.”
Thus, while Hong Kong hasn’t yet felt the major implications of climate change, this will be inevitable without significant effort from activists, day-to-day citizens, and the government itself. In order to save the Hong Kong we know and love, we’ll need to work together. And, we’ll need to start now.