USEE exchanges views with summer interns (with photos)
The Under Secretary for Environment and Ecology, Miss Diane Wong, today (August 1) met with summer interns of the Post-secondary Student Summer Internship Programme, encouraging them to seize the opportunity to enhance their knowledge, equip themselves and unleash their potential after graduation.
The meeting was held at the Environmental Academy of the Environmental Protection Department (EPD). Miss Wong invited the interns to share their experiences and what they have gained during their one and a half month internship, and shared her own experience of working in the Environment and Ecology Bureau (EEB). She believed that the young people participating in the summer internship programme of the EEB and the EPD are all aspired to join environment-related fields. She encouraged the interns to make the best use of the remaining two weeks of the internship to explore their interests and expertise in the field, and to join the environmental protection work after graduation as well as contributing to combating climate change and sustainable development.
This year, a total of 61 students from local, Mainland and overseas tertiary institutions participated in the summer internship programme organised by the EEB and EPD. The interns were assigned to work in different units of the EEB and the EPD, covering positions related to environmental protection, ecological conservation, green energy and energy conservation, climate change and sustainable development, etc.
At the meeting, Miss Wong mentioned that the United Nations recently stated that the era of “global boiling” has arrived, and scientists have pointed out that July this year is possibly the hottest month in 120,000 years. In her view, climate change is not only a clear crisis now, but also a threat to the living environment of future generations. To achieve carbon neutrality to combat climate change, the Government is diligently promoting four major decarbonisation strategies, namely net-zero electricity generation, energy saving and green buildings, green transport and waste reduction, and at the same time, it is necessary for various parties to work together. She encouraged the interns to make good use of their knowledge of climate change and practise energy-saving and carbon-reducing lifestyles in their daily lives to rise to the challenge of climate change together and realise the vision of “Zero-carbon Emissions‧Liveable City‧Sustainable Development”.
This year’s summer internship programme runs for eight weeks, from late June to mid-August. Apart from working in different units of the EEB and the EPD to gain practical experience, the interns have been arranged to visit various types of environmental protection infrastructure and facilities, including the organic resources recovery centre O．PARK1, T · PARK, Y · PARK, the waste electrical and electronic equipment treatment and recycling facility WEEE ∙ PARK, EcoPark, and Green@Community Recycling Network, etc, to learn more about the development of environmental protection facilities.
