Climate Dialogue: Low Carbon Cities for High Quality Living
Civic Exchange is organizing a four-day international event called Climate Dialogue: Low Carbon Cities for High Quality Living to be held in Hong Kong from 3 to 6 November, 2010.

This international conference will bring together stakeholders in the public and private sectors to exchange views on how to expedite the trajectory to tackle climate change. The conference will include a C40 workshop to provide a platform for policy-makers and experts from cities from around the world to share experience on policies and technologies to achieve low carbon living.

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Annual Report 2008-2009: Engagemment
"The work of Civic Exchange from October 2008 to September 2009 cannot be divorced from that of previous years. Since we began in 2000, we have made significant contributions in air pollution and health, energy and climate change, urban design and high performance buildings, sustainable development, the Pearl River Delta, good governance, public records management, and public budgeting. In the past twelve months, we have expanded on what we can offer to policy-makers and the public on these subjects," says Christine Loh, CEO of Civic Exhcange.

Download the full annual report at:
http://www.civic-exchange.org/eng/upload/File/Annual%20Report/AR2009.pdf

Commissioned by Civic Exchange, Professor Richard Cullen and Simon Young conducted an in-depth research on the Chief Executive and election committee elections. The research is being published in a book, Electing Hong Kong’s Chief Executive, by the Hong Kong University Press in June 2010. An event will be held on 21 June, 2010 to launch the book.

For details, please e-mail Yan-yan Yip.

Civic Exchanged hosed a press conference on total water management in Hong Kong. Raising water prices is inevitable for Hong Kong to manage its water resource better. So far, the HKSAR Government hesitates to increase tariffs because if expected resistance from legislators.

Civic Exchange believes it is time for officials to disclose the full picture of the risks Hong Kong faces and what it takes to ensure long-term supply for the whole of the Pearl River Delta to which Hong Kong socio-economic circumstances are intricately tied.

To download the press release:
http://www.civic-exchange.org/eng/upload/files/20100524PR.pdf (English)
http://www.civic-exchange.org/chi/upload/files/20100524PRc.pdf (Chinese)

Civic Exchange hosted an informal lunch gathering to learn from Dr. Howard Wiarda about civil society in a comparative perspective.

Howard J. Wiarda is the author of the book, Civil Society: The American Model and Third World Development. He is a professor of international relations and senior scholar at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, USA.

To know more about the event, please visit:
http://www.civic-exchange.org/eng/event_100520CivilSociety.aspx

Civic Exchange hosted a press conference to outline key players in reducing franchised bus emissions, and to identify key roles for Chief Secretary, Secretary for Health & Food and Transport Department.

To download the press release:
http://www.civic-exchange.org/eng/upload/files/100510PR.pdf (English)
http://www.civic-exchange.org/chi/upload/files/100510PRc.pdf (Chinese)

Civic Exchange and Clean Air Network bid farewell to Professor Anthony Hedley by organizing a lecture on Public Health in a Changing World: An Extra-terrestrial Perspective. This lecutre focused on the importance of risk communication and the difficulties of translating the scientific evidence of harm into clear messages.

To know more about the event, please visit:
http://www.civic-exchange.org/eng/event_100428hedley.aspx

Christine Loh of Civic Exchange and Dr Guo Peiyuan of SynTao have been following China’s water crisis closely. They have been keeping track of the availability and pricing of the resource as well as the evolvement of related policies and regulations. In this report, they highlight a very important shift in thinking of central and provincial governments - from supply to demand-side management through pricing control.

Download the full report at:
http://www.civic-exchange.org/eng/upload/files/100520CLSAwater.pdf

In this report, they summarised the REDA commissioned response submitted to the Council for Sustainable Development’s consultation Building Design to Foster a Quality and Sustainable Built Environment in October 2009. In recent years there has been growing concern about the diminishing livability of Hong Kong’s urban environment. Public concern has focused on air pollution, especially from diesel vehicles on our congested roads, limited open space for public interaction, and the “wall effect” and “street canyon effect”, caused by tall and bulky buildings blocking natural airflows and preventing dispersal of air pollution and the cooling of hot urban areas.

Hong Kong is beginning to respond to the challenges of climate change, yet our buildings, cooled by air conditioning, accessed by escalators and elevators, and filled with energy hungry appliances, lighting and equipment consume about 90% of our electricity, and are responsible for some 50-60% of Hong Kong’s greenhouse gas emissions.

Download the full report at:
http://www.civic-exchange.org/eng/upload/files/100430REDA.pdf

http://www.civic-exchange.org/eng/upload/files/10517PublicRecord.pdf (English)
http://www.civic-exchange.org/chi/upload/files/10517PublicRecord_Chi.pdf (Chinese)

• 7 May, 2010 - A bit hazy
• 21 May, 2010 - For the record

Please visit the Civic Exchange website to view the articles.

• 11 May, 2010 - LED lamps
• 25 May, 2010 - Water pricing

Please visit the Hong Kong Economic Times website to view the articles. (Chinese only)