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Building resilience to extreme heat
THE PARIS AGREEMENT
RESILIENCE IN HONG KONG
The Paris Agreement came into force on 4 November 2016 and Hong Kong was a signatory. Pursuant to the Paris Agreement, Hong Kong is required to stop increasing greenhouse gas emissions as soon as possible and pursue efforts to implement the goal of keeping global average temperature increase below 2°C (relative to pre-industrial levels) and no more than 1.5°C .
As stated at the outset of this report, extreme weather events, including severe heat, are exacerbated by climate change and are increasing in frequency and intensity. In view of the potentially significant losses resulting from such disasters, it is critical for cities to increase their preparedness by building resilience. Resilience refers to the capacity of systems (fromnational, local or household economies to businesses and their supply chains) to anticipate, absorb or buffer losses and to recover. 34 A resilient city is a city that can reduce the damage and risk incurred from disasters, accompanied with the ability to bounce back to a stable state. 35
34 United Nations Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction 2015. Available at https://www.preventionweb.net/english/hyogo/gar/2015/en/gar-pdf/GAR2015_EN.pdf 35 Planning Department (2016) Hong Kong 2030+: A Smart, Green and Resilient City Strategy. Available at https://www.hk2030plus.hk/document/Hong%20Kong%202030+%20A%20SGR%20City%20Strategy_ Eng.pdf
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