Aiming at enhancing the scientific research collaboration between Hong Kong SAR and China, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) held the 2022 Academic Symposium on Carbon Neutral and Smart and Healthy City on 29-30 August 2022. The event is funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) and the Beijing-Hong Kong Academic Exchange Centre (BHKAEC). Academic exchanges have been taken place to establish future research directions and explore innovative solutions in achieving carbon neutrality and building a smart healthy city.
The two-day hybrid symposium gathered 33 renowned scientists from 16 universities in Hong Kong and China to share research findings in 5 major areas including "Carbon Neutrality and Sustainable Development", "Low Carbon Land and Urban Development", "Key Technologies for Smart and Energy-flexible Buildings in High-density Cities towards Carbon Neutrality", "Towards Future Smart Cities", and "Carbon Neutral Construction Materials". Top researchers also discussed strategies for reducing carbon emissions, accelerating the transformation of energy systems towards smart and zero-carbon healthy city, thus supporting the Nation’s achievement of the “dual carbon goals” with technological measures on energy system transformation, energy conservation and reduction of industries’ energy consumption and emission, strategic technology planning, and carbon capture.
Professor Jin-Guang Teng, President of PolyU, addressed on the opening ceremony that PolyU established PolyU Academy for Interdisciplinary Research (PAIR) in 2021 to facilitate interdisciplinary research and provide innovative solutions to global challenges such as climate change, population aging and food shortage. In order to achieve carbon neutrality, advanced technology and excellent talents are essential. Professor Teng hoped that the presentations and sharing of scholars from both sides in the two-day symposium would bring new ideas and thoughts to the development of "Smart Zero Carbon Emissions City".
Mr. Zhang Yongtao, Officer of the Office of Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan Affairs of the NSFC remarked, “The symposium provides a platform for experts from Hong Kong and the Inland to exchange scientific progress and showcase their research results around the major strategy of carbon neutrality, and explore the hot issues at the forefront of a carbon-neutral smart and healthy city, and to build scientific consensus.” He also pointed out that NSFC attaches great importance to the scientific cooperation and exchange between the Inland and Hong Kong, and introduced the channels for Hong Kong researchers to receive direct support from NSFC in 2022.
The Symposium is co-organised by the PolyU Academy for Interdisciplinary Research (PAIR) and Research and Innovation Office (RIO). RIO, as a forward-looking department in the University, is devoted to propelling the University’s technology development and advances to benefit the society by providing all-rounded support to facilitate research endeavours within the PolyU community, and foster partnerships among universities, industries, governments, supranational bodies, and the public. PAIR is a central research platform consisting 16 research institutes and research centres which aspire to be a world leader in providing inter-disciplinary solutions for major social challenges. Among those, 5 research institutes have actively involved in facilitating carbon neutrality and smart healthy city, namely, Research Institute for Land and Space, Research Institute for Sustainable Urban Development, Otto Poon Charitable Foundation Smart Cities Research Institute, Otto Poon Charitable Foundation Research Institute for Smart Energy and Research Centre for Resources Engineering towards Carbon Neutrality.
