CE meets Secretary General of World Meteorological Organization (with photos)

     The Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, met the Secretary General of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), Professor Petteri Taalas, at the Chief Executive's Office this morning (October 3). The Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Edward Yau, was also present.

     Mrs Lam welcomed Professor Taalas' visit to Hong Kong again and extended her congratulations to the WMO on being awarded the Welfare Betterment Prize of the Lui Che Woo Prize 2018 in recognition of the work of the WMO over the years which has contributed to the mitigation of the impact of natural disasters on humans.

     Mrs Lam said that Hong Kong, which has been a member of the WMO since 1948, has actively taken part in the Organization's work. She said that the incumbent Director of Hong Kong Observatory (HKO) and the Permanent Representative of Hong Kong, China with the WMO, Mr Shun Chi-ming, was the first Asian person to be the President of the WMO's Commission for Aeronautical Meteorology and that his presidency ended earlier after eight years of remarkable service.

     Mrs Lam noted that the HKO and the WMO yesterday (October 2) signed a Memorandum of Understanding which will further strengthen meteorological co-operation between both parties with the support by the HKO for the WMO's initiative in establishing the Global Multi-hazard Alert System. Mrs Lam said that the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) attaches great importance to the work in combating climate change and will proactively meet the commitments of the Paris Agreement, which applies to the HKSAR. Hong Kong's Climate Action Plan 2030+ was released at the beginning of last year and sets out in detail the measures on mitigation, adaptation and resilience in regard to combating climate change. She added that Hong Kong has expertise and rich experience in city management and dealing with natural disasters and that the city is pleased to help and share experience in capacity building with emerging economies.