Homegrown Innovations from Hong Kong

We’ve hoped for more focus on Greenland and now we have it, but for all the wrong reasons that only distract from the urgent rapid melt of its ice sheets and accelerating contributions to sea level rise. And this is on top of the US’s “invasion” of oil-rich Venezuela as well as its exit from the IPCC, UNFCCC, UN Water, UN Ocean, UN Energy, IRENA, IUCN & IPBES plus more. All this means we are speeding headlong toward a new “Climate B”.

With the need to get “future fit” moving to the top of the priority list in 2026, we go local to find inspiration and kick-off the year with homegrown innovations sprouting from Hong Kong. See how Camilla Zanzanaini’s small but mighty micro-forests are restoring resilience to urban nature while Dr. Chi Chiu Lo is transforming HK’s vulnerable coastline into living shorelines. Research from Dr. Cen Wang finds a surprising link between Arctic sea ice and HK’s weather and CWR’s Jamie Chan explores opportunities in the arts, fintech & textiles to build resilience for the future.

Hong Kong’s urban parks may look pretty but most are devoid of life. Without an ecosystem of birds, insects, microorganisms in the soil, this type of greenery doesn’t provide the same physical health or ecological benefits as a native forest could.

To counter this trend, Camilla Zanzanaini founded Nature Makers Lab to plant hotspots of biodiversity throughout the city. Her micro-forests can grow even in a space as small as 2 parking lots – using the innovative Miyawaki forestry method – and only take 2-3 years to be self-sustaining, saving maintenance costs over the long-run.

These tiny forests pack a big punch: they can help reduce flooding, improve air quality, cool down summer temperatures up to 15°C, and even withstand super-typhoons. Check out our conversation here.

Coastal ecosystems are also important to protect, especially as rising seas and intensifying extreme weather drive shoreline modifications worldwide. That’s why marine ecologist Dr. Chi Chiu Lo co-founded AfterNature – a company dedicated to re-introducing life back to artificial shorelines.

Unlike traditional seawalls, living shorelines incorporate natural elements like oyster reefs as well as eco-engineered habitat units to enhance ecological value and mitigate carbon. Do humans also benefit from living shorelines? Where in HK can you find their designs? Read our interview with Dr. Lo to find out.

Still, one of the main barriers preventing AfterNature from scaling up is that the public still doesn’t see how climate change will impact us. That’s why we spoke to HKUST’s Dr. Cen Wang who is researching how changes in the Arctic can affect us in Hong Kong.

We were excited to find a cryosphere researcher in Hong Kong and even more excited to see that his findings were published in Nature Communications! His findings show a slowing of sea ice decline since 2012 due to changes in the Multi-decadal North Atlantic Oscillation but as this will switch, sea ice decline will likely accelerate after 2030/2040.

Dr. Wang walks us through his journey from polar vortex surges to sea level rise as he explores the deep connections between the Arctic & Asia’s coastal cities. Yes, variations in Arctic sea ice & polar vortex behaviour can cascade through the atmosphere and even influence weather in Asia bringing us cold waves – remember the cold spell in Hong Kong back in 2016 that brought ice pellets, freezing rain and widespread frost?

As threats from the polar regions are existential for HK, how do we get Hong Kong people to care about ice? Or encourage more cryosphere research from Hong Kong? Is he conducting research in Antarctica? Do we really need to care about ice? Read it all in our interview with Dr Wang.

The current 10-20 year window is critical for decisive global climate action and robust adaptation planning – connecting ice to our daily lives is crucial to getting there but so is innovation. But innovation isn’t just about applying AI to everything, the magic happens in unsilo-ing.

On this front, CWR’s Jamie Chan explores solutions that expand new ways of thinking about complex climate & global challenges as she navigates “innovation-washing”.

From climate action that bridges art & science to green fintech that builds resilience & adaptation as well as turning the textiles industry from dirty to clean, Chan explores HK’s role as a facilitator, financier and an R&D hub.

If you knew where to look, Hong Kong is buzzing with exciting opportunities to develop innovative, interdisciplinary, and scalable solutions to the challenges of this century. Institutional support and private sector interest is making it easier to make a splash – so if you have a good idea to pitch, give it a shot! Don’t know where to start? Read this.

Change starts at home. We hope you find in this month’s newsletters ideas that are small in scale, yet promise a change that could be seismic. Don’t wait – Dare Great Things in 2026.