December, 2015:
2015 may be the warmest on record, but heat waves will only intensify unless we act now
Gabriel Lau says research focusing on East Asia, North America and Europe shows that hot weather is likely to become more frequent and severe without action to address global warming, and coastal cities like Hong Kong will not be immune
The UN’s meteorological agency says the global average surface temperature in 2015 is likely to be the warmest on record. The Hong Kong Observatory believes this year will be the city’s warmest since records began in 1884. In India, a severe heat wave claimed the lives of more than 2,500 people in May. And, three months ago, Hong Kong experienced its hottest day on record.
The message is clear. Despite fluctuations, on a long-term scale, global temperatures are unquestionably rising. Hong Kong is beginning to feel the wrath of summer heat and the gradual blurring of the seasons.
Global warming is not a bluff. It poses an imminent threat. It is imperative that action is taken immediately to avert possible disaster on a global scale
Many scientific studies have concluded that this year’s sporadic weather pattern is not an aberration but a direct result of the sustained warming of our climate. The consequences are more than just the discomfort brought by hotter days. The extreme weather conditions experienced in many parts of the world may be linked to sustained climate change.
As a climate scientist, my current research on heat waves in East Asia (and two of my earlier studies focusing on North America and Europe) suggests that unless we act responsibly now, hot weather will prevail and intensify. Heat waves will not only become more frequent, but will last longer and be more severe. Coastal cities like Hong Kong will also be affected.
In 2012 and 2014, I collaborated with colleagues at the US Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory and the Chinese University of Hong Kong on two separate studies on extreme weather events in North America and Europe. This year, the research procedure and projections were repeated for East Asia.
These studies point to a consistent trend: as we head towards the end of this century, there are likely to be more than twice as many heat waves each year; and each is likely to last up to twice as long. These changes are equally likely in East Asia, Europe and North America.
In reaching our projections, we are already assuming that global-warming-contributing emissions will be reduced by half of the current level by 2080. Even with these efforts, the average global temperature will rise by about 2 degrees Celsius by 2100. If our energy consumption grows at current rates, the increase in emissions could easily push the temperature up by as much as 4 degrees, with even more extreme weather events.
Our most recent study suggests that if nothing is done to cut carbon emissions, the increasingly frequent severe heat waves that result would destroy crops in several sectors of East and Southeast Asia, causing widespread food shortages in the region. Hong Kong is unlikely to be spared. Temperatures of up to 40 degrees for several consecutive days in the summer could occur.
It is imperative that action is taken immediately to avert possible disaster on a global scale. A target of limiting the global temperature rise to 2 degrees by 2100 may look challenging, but it is achievable. What is crucial is a willingness on the part of the international community to cooperate, and reduce carbon emissions responsibly.
The Paris climate conference is an important platform, albeit a protracted process, for countries to set realistic and tangible targets, and to arrive at a set of policies and a collaboration framework. Individual governments need to play their part and adopt environmentally conscious development strategies.
In Hong Kong, certain policies could bring environmental benefits; emission reduction measures are the obvious choice. If energy consumption cannot be reduced significantly, a cleaner fuel mix should be pursued using natural gas and renewable energy, along with the promotion of green-building practises.
Intelligent city planning policies that allow better air circulation at street level would reduce the “heat island effect”, and the reliance on air conditioning. Encouraging mass transit travel would cut the number of private cars on the road, and the amount of emissions generated.
Small changes count. A switch to energy-saving appliances will save money and reduce fuel consumption and emissions. Even cutting meat consumption can make a difference.
Global warming is not a bluff. It poses an imminent threat. Unchecked greenhouse gas emissions will accelerate global warming with dire consequences. The heat waves that are closely linked to rising temperatures will become more frequent, more severe and last longer. Governments need to take the Paris meeting seriously – and act now for the sake of the next generation.
Professor Gabriel Lau Ngar-cheung is AXA professor of geography and resource management in the Faculty of Social Science, and director of the Institute of Environment, Energy and Sustainability, at Chinese University of Hong Kong
Source URL: http://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1888904/2015-may-be-warmest-record-heat-waves-will-only-intensify
Cities launch five-year vision to tackle climate change
http://www.eco-business.com/news/cities-launch-five-year-vision-to-tackle-climate-change/
Ahead of national government commitments, cities around the world are taking unprecedented action to cut carbon emissions and build resilient societies.
Cities across the world representing almost a fifth of the global population have launched a five-year vision to scale up actions to tackle climate change.
This five-year vision, led by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), will include building the resilience of vulnerable cities as well as improving capital flows to finance low-carbon infrastructure projects, among others.
Speaking at the launch of the vision at the Lima to Paris Action Agenda (LPAA) Focus on Cities event on Tuesday, Al Gore, former vice president of the United States and climate advocate, said that cities and subnational governments “are playing a critical role in bringing a solution to the climate crisis”.
They are “essential for enabling us to move from negotiation to implementation”, in order to achieve a global target of cutting emissions to prevent dangerous climate change, he said.
“Everyone knows the subnational governments have moved out faster than the national governments”, he told a packed room of 200 at Le Bourget, Paris, where the United Nations climate change summit talks are being held this week.
This LPAA vision will enable the world to make even faster progress, he said. “What’s happening here in Paris is a reaching of critical mass among governors and subnational leaders, who are comparing notes and in some cases outdoing each other on ever more ambitious and impressive commitments”, Gore added.
Also speaking at the launch, Segolene Royal, French Minister for Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy, said the vision will be finalised by next year, along with the signatories to the declaration.
The vision outlines four objectives, namely:
- Increasing the number of cities and regions deciding to implement an Action Plan and climate objectives;
- Building resilience in the greatest number of cities and regions, with particular attention to vulnerable populations;
- Improving project preparation and climate planning to ensure increased financial flows to the territories, but also accelerate the deployment of innovative economic and financial tools;
- Supporting multi-partnership initiatives between different levels of governance.
The LPAA is a joint initiative by the Peruvian and French presidencies of the UN meetings – known as COP – which aims to mobilise robust actions towards low carbon and resilient societies.
In a statement, the UN said subnational authorities now make up the largest group contributing climate commitments into the UN’s Non-State Actor Zone for Climate Action (NAZCA) database, an online portal that functions as a central clearinghouse on climate-related commitments by all entities other than national governments.
As urban areas are responsible for half of all global greenhouse gas emissions, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), they are crucial in meeting the internationally agreed goal to keep the global average temperature rise below 2 degrees Celsius.
“This presents both a challenge and an opportunity to lock new urban expansion into a new development model towards climate-resilient and low-carbon societies at large scale, leap frogging the old patterns of urban life for a growing population,” said the UNFCCC.
Government negotiators from around the world are racing against the clock to finalise a universal agreement to tackle climate change by the end of the UN meeting on Friday.
While there are still key differences to be ironed out, the atmosphere has generally been optimistic.
Gore told the audience: “Every great moral cause in the history of humanity has been met with a series of ‘Nos’ with fierce resistance, but after the last ‘No’, when people realize that the fundamental choice is between what is right and wrong, then comes a ‘Yes’.”
“We’re at that point in Paris, and one of the reasons we’re at this point is because of the subnational leaders who are taking much bolder, faster, meaningful action which is changing the course of human civilization.”
Back on dump sites as waste fails to add up
The Environment Bureau has been forced to go back on estimates of when saturation points are reached at three controversial dump sites.
Planners said a while back that capacity at Tseung Kwan O would be reached this year, Ta Kwu Ling in 2017 and Tuen Mun in 2019.
Acting Secretary for the Environment Christine Loh Kung- wai told a Legislative Council Public Accounts Committee meeting yesterday the bureau will re- estimate when the sites will be full.
That was after questioning by Civic Party legislator Alan Leong Kah-kit, who said: “We have completely lost confidence after the audit report. Is it necessary for the government to review the resources allocation because the [estimates] were wrong?”
The auditor had found solid waste quantities and waste- recovery rates were overestimated.
Loh said the bureau “can re- estimate the deadlines” for when the three sites will be full, acknowledging “a gap” between audit findings and those of the bureau.
Committee chairman Abraham Shek Lai-him asked if resources were being used appropriately.
http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_print.asp?art_id=164006&sid=45712840
Why Hong Kong’s copyright bill is no threat to free speech
Stacy Baird says the proposed exceptions, taken together, unambiguously address all the concerns, and more. In fact, it is likely to be the broadest free speech exception in copyright law anywhere in the world
Some netizens are concerned that the government, politicians or wealthy Hong Kong copyright owners will use copyright law to suppress free speech.
To see why the concern is no longer realistic, it’s important to understand the law protecting freedom of speech in Hong Kong and the government’s proposed amendment.
If one is concerned that the government will use all means to suppress free speech, including flouting the rule of law, then it won’t matter what the copyright law says
Trumping all law, including copyright, are Hong Kong’s protections for free speech and free expression: Article 27 of the Basic Law and Article 16 of the Hong Kong Bill of Rights. The Hong Kong courts have been unyielding guardians of Hong Kong’s Bill of Rights, with rulings over the years emphasising the importance of these fundamental freedoms.
Correspondingly, section 192 of the copyright ordinance, something of a broad “public interest” exception, preserves the public interest over the copyright interest. Open public discourse on political issues and criticism of government facilitated by the right to free speech is the basis for – and most important aspect of – the right in how it serves the public interest.
Importantly, copyright only protects an expression, not an idea. Ideological, religious, political, social and economic views cannot be copyrighted. If a politician espouses ideas that one wants to challenge or use to illustrate a political concern, one may express the idea without using the exact expression of the politician.
As to what Hong Kong’s copyright law actually does: similar to other common law democracies, we have a fair dealing exception. For example, if sued for using a political speech or any copyrighted work such as a reworked movie poster or song with new political lyrics, one can offer the defence that the copyrighted work was used for the purpose of research, review, reporting current events or, most critically to the question of free speech, criticism.
Some raise the spectre of government influence on the courts as a potential problem, but it’s worth noting that if you get this far in the courts, you would be in a unique situation. In Hong Kong’s long history, no copyright lawsuit has been brought against an individual’s fair dealing.
And around the world, copyright law and the courts protect parody and free speech; so, were Hong Kong courts to look elsewhere for guidance, they would find a consistent body of jurisprudence protecting these rights.
For the most part, the copyright amendments under consideration have been pending for over eight years. In considering the 2011 amendments, some raised free speech concerns and thus sought an amendment to exempt parody. Recognising the concern went beyond simple parody and extended to a broader free speech issue, this year, the government has included a parody exception, but broader than in other jurisdictions, to include parody, satire, caricature and even pastiche, copying the style of a copyrighted work. The government also added a very broad exception for commenting on current events, and quotation.
If one is concerned that the government will use all means to suppress free speech, including flouting the rule of law, abrogating or ignoring the Basic Law and Bill of Rights, it won’t matter what the copyright law says.
But it seems to me that the proposed exceptions, taken together, the extraordinarily broad “parody”, current event commentary and quotation exceptions directly and unambiguously address all the free speech concerns, and more. It is likely to be the broadest free speech exception in copyright law anywhere in the world; and it makes it clear that it’s not the government’s intention to use or allow others to use copyright law to suppress free speech.
Yet critics are once again not satisfied and are delaying passage of the copyright amendment to seek an exemption for all “user generated content”.
Clearly going beyond free speech, they seek an exemption that I equate with providing all printers an exemption from copyright infringement – there’s no difference except that books and magazines are printed on paper and “content” is “generated” by “users” in digital form. Truly an exception designed to swallow the rule.
On the other hand, the clearly articulated purpose of the copyright amendment is to give copyright holders better tools to fight large-scale infringement and enable internet service providers to assist without risk of liability.
Here in Hong Kong, newspapers advertise set-top boxes to hack “free” access to copyrighted TV and movies, online sites enable downloading illegally “free” copies of music, movies, books and more. Hong Kong’s laws are not in line even with the most basic online copyright laws around the world. And now, with parody, current event and quotation exceptions, the law would break new ground, squarely addressing free speech.
I encourage the informed online community to embrace the amendments and the government to pass this long overdue legislation to enable legitimate online content to flourish.
Stacy Baird served as senior advisor and intellectual property & information technology counsel to key members of the US Senate and House of Representatives. He has held appointments as visiting fellow at the University of Hong Kong Faculty of Law and visiting scholar at the University of Southern California College of Letters, Arts and Sciences. Mr Baird has resided in Hong Kong for eight years
Source URL: http://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1888267/why-hong-kongs-copyright-bill-no-threat-free-speech
EU Adopts Circular Economy Package, But Is It Good Enough?
http://www.sustainablebrands.com/news_and_views/next_economy/hannah_furlong/eu_adopts_circular_economy_package_it_good_enough
Stakeholders are yet again criticizing the European Commission’s new Circular Economy Package. The original policy, released in December of last year, was denounced as insufficiently ambitious, resulting in its dismissal and a review process over the course of 2015. The Commission adopted the revised package on December 2nd, but some claim the new policy is even weaker than the original.
The rationale for circular economy legislation is clear. In the words of the European Commission’s First Vice-President Frans Timmermans, responsible for sustainable development: “Our planet and our economy cannot survive if we continue with the ‘take, make, use and throw away’ approach. We need to retain precious resources and fully exploit all the economic value within them. The circular economy is about reducing waste and protecting the environment, but it is also about a profound transformation of the way our entire economy works. By rethinking the way we produce, work and buy we can generate new opportunities and create new jobs.”
Timmermans went on to say the new Circular Economy Package “sets a credible and ambitious path for better waste management in Europe with supportive actions that cover the full product cycle. This mix of smart regulation and incentives at EU level will help businesses and consumers, as well as national and local authorities, to drive this transformation.”
Unfortunately, there has already been some debate on the validity of those claims. Charitable organization Friends of the Earth said the new Circular Economy Package “is worse than the old one,” “notably weaker than its predecessor,” and “falls short in many areas.”
The organization acknowledged the policy will be an improvement over the status quo, but notes that the target for reuse and recycling of municipal waste was reduced from 70 percent to 65 percent by 2030, and two other targets — a target to reduce food waste by 30 percent between 2017 and 2025; and a target for an overall reduction in the total amount of resources used — were removed altogether. Friends of the Earth added that the Commission did not follow through on recommendations to incorporate a plan to measure land, water, carbon, and raw material footprints.
“The Commission’s proposal is a disappointment in that it doesn’t nearly go far enough. It is now on the Parliament and Member States to ensure that high recycling targets are maintained, and that binding obligations to reduce absolute resource consumption are included in the final package,” said Samuel Lowe, Resource Use Campaigner for Friends of the Earth.
The Alliance for Beverage Cartons and the Environment (ACE) also criticized the policy, suggesting it could do more for encouraging innovation in materials and waste.
“Just increasing the individual recycling targets for key materials like paper, plastics and aluminum will not be sufficient to match innovation,” said Bertil Heerink, director general of ACE. “Measures must be taken that strengthen existing recycling solutions, foster innovation in new recyclable materials and recycling techniques, resulting in a further increase in recycling of beverage cartons across Europe.”
The EU Action Plan for the Circular Economy targets are:
A common EU target for recycling 65% of municipal waste by 2030;
A common EU target for recycling 75% of packaging waste by 2030;
A binding landfill target to reduce landfill to maximum of 10% of all waste by 2030;
A ban on landfilling of separately collected waste;
Promotion of economic instruments to discourage landfilling;
Simplified and improved definitions and harmonised calculation methods for recycling rates throughout the EU;
Concrete measures to promote re-use and stimulate industrial symbiosis – turning one industry’s by-product into another industry’s raw material; and
Economic incentives for producers to put greener products on the market and support recovery and recycling schemes (e.g. for packaging, batteries, electric and electronic equipment, vehicles).
Several proposed directives on waste and fact sheets were also released. The European Commission expects the proposals to create energy bill savings of €465 per year per household by 2020, and over 170,000 jobs by 2035 through waste management efforts. Over 500 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions reductions are expected between 2015 and 2035.
The circular economy action plan will be funded by over €650 million from the Horizon 2020 EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation, €5.5 billion from structural funds for waste management, and investments in the circular economy at the national level.
Hundreds, possibly thousands, of dead fish wash up in river connected to ‘tainted’ reservoir
http://hongkong.coconuts.co/2015/12/07/hundreds-possibly-thousands-dead-fish-wash-river-connected-tainted-reservoir
Shoals of dead fish washed up on the banks of Shing Mun River last week, around the same time as Greenpeace released data indicating that five of Hong Kong’s biggest drinking water reservoirs are tainted with a potentially carcinogenic chemical, perfluorinated chemicals (PFCs). Lovely!
Mathematically-challenged local media have estimated the number of dead fish at anything from 400 to a staggering 10,000.
Oriental Daily reports Sha Tin district councilwoman Scarlett Pong as saying that two different tests (biochemical oxygen demand and chemical oxygen demand, FYI) of the river’s water in recent years showed elevated levels of pollutants. Pong went on to say that she has already complained to the Environmental Protection Department.
While the water quality of Shing Mun river has reportedly improved since 1993, it is occasionally threatened by the polluted waters of Tolo Harbour, which backflow into the river during high tide. Shing Mun River has multiple tributaries, one of which apparently flows into Shing Mun Reservoir.
According to Hong Kong Free Press, Greenpeace said that Shing Mun Reservoir tested positively for PFCs, although it reportedly showed a lower concentration that some other reserviors as it collects rainwater and mountain stream water.
PFCs are supposedly commonly used in the production of outdoor consumer items, like weatherproof membranes, as they are both water and oil-repellent.
Independent research finds Hong Kong beaches more contaminated than government says
https://www.hongkongfp.com/2015/12/07/independent-research-finds-hong-kong-beaches-more-contaminated-than-government-says/
Hazardous levels of sewage-based bacteria have been found at beaches the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) says are clean, according to testing carried out by University of Hong Kong (HKU) researchers.
Water and sand samples collected by marine science students at Golden Beach and Clear Water Bay Second Beach contained quantities of enterococcus exceeding levels considered safe in other countries, according to the research paper published in Marine Pollution Bulletin last month.
Enterococcus indicates the presence of faecal matter which can incubate various health-threatening microbes, leading to gastroenteritis, pneumonia, hepatitis and infections of the skin, eyes and ears.
The samples were collected in September and October last year. During that period, the EPD graded the water at the two beaches as “good”, its best available rating.
EPD map with contaminated beaches highlighted. Photo: beachwq.gov.hk.
Researcher Kylie Yuen Ka-lai said the results were a wake-up call. “If the government says a beach is in good condition and you can swim there, people will go for it,” she said. “But we shouldn’t trust this kind of thing so easily.”
The contradictory findings result from different screening methods. Since 1986, the EPD has screened beach water for E coli, which it says is in accordance with World Health Organization guidelines.
But the WHO revised its guidelines in 2003 and now recommends screening marine water for enterococcus, which has higher resistance to salt and UV light, making it a more reliable measure of beach water contamination.
The US Environmental Protection Agency follows the WHO code, as do authorities in Europe, the UK and Australia. If US standards were followed in Hong Kong, the beaches tested would have been closed to swimmers during the sampling period and potentially for much of the year.
At Golden Beach, the EPD reported an average of 12 colony-forming units of E coli per 100 millilitres, well under its objective of 180 CFUs. By contrast, the HKU researchers found 41 CFUs of enterococcus, slightly above the US EPA’s objective of 35 CFUs.
The divergence at Clear Water Bay Second Beach was more striking. The EPD detected just 7 CFUs of E coli before it declared the beach safe, whereas the HKU researchers measured an imposing 124 CFUs of enterococcus per 100 millilitres – three and a half times the US objective.
“We cannot dance around the discrepancy,” said David Baker, research supervisor and a professor in the School of Biological Sciences at HKU. “I can’t imagine [the EPD] would refute the use of enterococcus when almost all of the scientific literature is promoting it today.”
Patrick Lei Chee-kwong, principal environment protection officer in the EPD’s Water Policy and Science Group, said the EPD has collected enterococcus data for almost five years. But the data has not been shared with the public or the scientific community and does not feed into beach water quality ratings.
Lei admitted enterococcus was tracking more strongly recently, but said there was no locally-produced evidence linking enterococcus with human illness and more research was needed. The EPD has not issued a press release on its marine water quality research since May 2010.
Hong Kong’s beaches attracted almost 10 million visitors last year. The two beaches in the HKU study are among the four that are open to swimmers all year round. Golden Beach is famed for its imported Hainanese sand, while the EPD website describes Clear Water Bay Second as “one of the most popular and finest beaches in Hong Kong”.
Limited testing by the HKU researchers found four other beaches relatively uncontaminated: the Hong Kong island trio of Repulse Bay, Stanley Main Beach and Shek O, and Butterfly Beach in the New Territories.
While the researchers used the same water sampling methods as the EPD, they also measured sedimentary bacteria, which the EPD does not. In the sands underwater at around waist depth, they found around four times as much enterococcus as in the water.
“The bacteria likes to adhere to sediments,” said Yuen. “If there is wave action or tidal action, it re-suspends the sediments. The bacteria then comes off the sediments and floats in the water column, where people are swimming.”
Despite the unsettling results, Baker said initiatives like the Harbour Area Treatment Scheme have had a positive impact on some of Hong Kong’s marine waters, and the government should view beach water quality as an opportunity for improvement.
“I think the government really shouldn’t be afraid of this, because they only stand to look good,” he said. “If they continue to invest in waste water management, and they continue to be transparent about the water quality data, then the trajectory is only going to be positive. It’s only going to improve over time.”