Climate Change: Not Fake News

Last week we saw the G19 breaking off from the US position on climate change. With fake news everywhere, we take a real look this month at climate risk plus action so far. First, see why we think it’s time to step up efforts to bridge science and policy and to go ‘science unusual’ to counter fake news. Look no further than China’s groundwater shortage for urgency. Biswas & Hartley from the Lee Kuan Yew School for Public Policy explore solutions. Meanwhile, China has approved the revised ‘Water Pollution Prevention & Control Law’. Closer to home, action is underway to transform Hong Kong into a climate ready & flood resilient sponge city, as Leung from the Drainage Services Department shows. But is HK’s water supply secure under climate change? Much is made of the DongShen Agreement’s price tag but discussions need to move onto more complex issues such as the city’s rampant overuse and leakage. Hear from Civic Exchange on HK’s ‘illusion of plenty’. Even China’s power sector is taking action to treat air pollution from thermal power plants. However, this is not good news for wastewater – is zero liquid discharge the way to tackle the issues? Bluetech Research’s Owen expands. Climate resilience financing is on the rise. We sat down with Dr. Chan from the Climate Bonds Initiative working group to find out the latest on green finance. How have China’s climate bonds been received? What’s next? Climate change is not fake news. It’s more than time to take a reality check!