News

The University of Macau (UM) today (31 March) held a ceremony in Beijing to confer an honorary doctorate upon Prof Chen Ning Yang, winner of the Nobel Prize in physics. Prof Yang said in his acceptance speech that he felt greatly honoured to receive the highest honour from UM, especially when this honour was received at Tsinghua University where he has spent more than 70 years. Guests at the ceremony included Xu Ting, director of the Department of Culture and Education of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Macao SAR; Zhao Lingshan, deputy director of Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan Affairs Office of the Ministry of Education; Hong Wai, director of the Office of the Macao Special Administrative Region in Beijing; Qiu Yong, president of Tsinghua University, Beijing; Lam Kam Seng, chair of UM’s University Council; Wei Zhao, rector of UM; Lionel M Ni, vice rector (academic affairs) of UM; Philip Chen, dean of UM’s Faculty of Science and Technology; and Liu Chuan Sheng, master of UM’s Chao Kuang Piu College. Lam Kam Seng presented the honorary degree to Prof Yang in the company of Rector Wei Zhao. Faculty members and students from UM and Tsinghua University, as well as Macao residents studying in Beijing, also attended the ceremony. ‘I visited UM last spring, and the new campus left a deep impression on me,’ said Prof Yang at the ceremony. ‘At that time, all the buildings on the new campus had been completed, and they looked beautiful. Now UM has moved to the new campus, which I believe will have an enormous impact on the university’s development over decades to come.’ UM Rector Wei Zhao thanked Tsinghua University for its assistance in organising the ceremony, which allowed UM to present the highest honour to Prof Yang at his alma mater. Rector Zhao noted that Tsinghua University was the most important member of the National Southwest Associated University (NSAU) during Chinese people’s resistance against Japanese invasion. Wei Zhao said that NSAU was among the first universities in Asia to successfully combine liberal arts education with research, two important tasks of higher education, and UM’s ‘4-in-1’ model of education, which consists of education inside the classroom and education outside the classroom, is designed for the same purpose. And Prof Yang, who has received education at the NSAU, and who has now become a member of UM, is the epitome of UM’s ‘4-in-1’ model of education. Tsinghua University President Qiu Yong said in his speech that over the past three decades, UM has grown to be the best university in Macao in a number of areas, such as microelectronics. UM and Tsinghua University signed collaboration agreements in 2000, and Qiu Yong hopes that faculty and students from the two universities will have more opportunities for exchange and collaboration in the future. Philip Chen, dean of UM’s Faculty of Science and Technology, praised Prof Yang as a world-renowned physicist, saying that one of Yang’s most important contributions is that he has changed Chinese people’s self-imposed feeling of inferiority.
…

The University of Macau (UM) Faculty of Social Sciences (FSS) today (31 March) held an opening ceremony for its Russian Centre. FSS Dean Hao Yufan says that the Russian Centre aims to provide a platform for UM faculty and students to learn more about Russia. He hopes the establishment of the Russian Centre will increase collaboration and cultural exchange between China and Russia. Attendees of the ceremony included Georgy D Toloraya, a representative of the Russkiy Mir Foundation; and Vladimir A Kalinin, consulate general of the Russian Federation in the Hong Kong SAR and the Macao SAR.
…

Macao Post urges public to be vigilant and pay attention to an email written in simplified chinese with an indication of Macao Post Logo that solicit the recipient to disclose address (please refer to the image for details). As the domain name of the sender is different from the domain name of Macao Post “macaupost.gov.mo”, we have to clarify that Macao Post did not send the email concerned to their customers. Given the attached zip file “macaupost.zip” contains computer virus, public is advised not to download the file concerned.
…

Dr. Helena Lo, the alumna of Institute for Tourism Studies, Macao (IFT) and Director of Pousada de Mong Há – Educational Hotel of IFT, was honoured by The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) with the 2015 PATA Face of the Future Award on 18 March, 2015. PATA’s Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Mario Hardy, said “Ms. Lo’s outstanding contribution to the responsible development of travel and tourism, specifically in the area of human capital development, is especially relevant today. “Her experience and insight will be most welcomed to the PATA Chairman in inviting her to join the PATA Executive Board as a non-voting member and observer”, he added. As a Macao native, Helena graduated from IFT in 2002 with a bachelor degree in Tourism Business Management. She joined the Pousada team after graduation, rising to be its head in 2012. Ms. Lo has furthered her studies, earning a master’s degree in Education and a doctorate degree in Business Administration. Her research interests include human resources and green hotel management. With a wealth of experience in the hotel industry, including almost 14 years overseeing the operations and development of Pousada de Mong-Há - the Educational Hotel and training unit of IFT, which has been recommended by Michelin Guide Hong Kong and Macao for 7 consecutive years and received Travelers’ Choice Award from TripAdvisor travel website for 5 consecutive years as well as 2013 Macao Green Hotel Gold Award. She also works closely with industry practitioners and maintains a network with the Macao hotel industry. “I am grateful to receive this prestigious award. This award gives me more energy and enthusiasms to further contribute to training future tourism talents”, Helena said. “The greatest achievement for me is to see my students achieving great careers after graduation; many of them pursued postgraduate degrees and have taken up prestigious positions in the tourism and hospitality industry”, she added. Founded in 1951, the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) is a not-for profit association that is internationally acclaimed for acting as a catalyst for the responsible development of travel and tourism to, from and within the Asia Pacific region. The Association provides aligned advocacy, insightful research and innovative events to its member organisations, comprising 87 government, state and city tourism bodies, nearly 31 international airlines, airports and cruise lines, 61 educational institutions, and hundreds of travel industry companies in Asia Pacific and beyond. As the Associate Member, Education Committee Member, Industry Council Member and Council Representative to the PATA Board, IFT received the PATA Gold Award in “Education and Training”, which acknowledged the content and quality of IFT’s programmes in 1997 and was honoured the award again in 2002 for having set up the “Macao Occupational Skills Recognition System” (MORS) for the tourism and hospitality industry in collaboration with the European Union (EU).
…

The University of Macau (UM) today held an Open Day on the new campus, attracting more than 8,000 people. This is UM’s first Open Day held on the new campus. Many middle school students and their parents visited the various faculties and residential colleges, where they got a taste of UM students’ campus lives and inquired after courses that interested them. Some people came with their families to sample food from around the world at the International Food Festival and watched student performances. ‘For those who are interested to apply to UM after graduation, the Open Day provides a great opportunity for them to know more about the campus and the university,’ said a teacher from Pui Ching Middle School who is also an alumna of UM. ‘I’m so happy for UM’s progress in recent years. The bigger campus and the advanced facilities will no doubt benefit future students and will help to foster a greater sense of belonging among the students.’ Many people came with their families. ‘We love the serene atmosphere of the campus,’ exclaimed a couple attending the Open Day. ‘Just looking at the green lake quiets our mind and makes us feel peaceful. We often come here for bicycling, to breathe the fresh air. This is the kind of environment that is conducive to learning, and I hope my children will be able to study at UM in the future.’ Another visitor in the Student Activity Centre was impressed by the international mix in the student body. ‘UM has attracted students from around the world, and it’s nice to experience different cultures on the campus. It makes the campus more vibrant,’ she said. The opening ceremony was held at 11:00 in the morning. Officiating guests at the ceremony included Lam Kam Seng, chair of UM’s University Council; Wei Zhao, rector of UM; Ao Peng Kong, president of the General Assembly of UM Alumni Association; Kiang Hao Chi, director general of UM Students’ Union; and Evenlyn Yuan, vice president of UM Postgraduate Association. In his speech at the opening ceremony, Rector Wei Zhao noted that UM is a university of and for Macao, and that it is open to the public every day. He said that UM hoped to take the Open Day as an opportunity to let people from Macao and the neighbouring regions, including representatives from the education sector, to learn more about the campus and UM’s educational philosophy. He also mentioned that UM received a large number of applications from outstanding local students this year. Of the 329 students accepted through the Principals’ Recommended Admission programme, 39 rank No 1 in their classes or schools, which Rector Zhao believes is an indication of their recognition of UM’s educational philosophy. After the opening ceremony, a group of guests attended the opening ceremony for the Creative Media Lab in the Faculty of Social Sciences, visited the Gaming Laboratory and Trading Room in the Faculty of Business Administration, and sampled food at the International Food Festival in the Student Activity Centre, in the company of UM faculty and staff. In an attempt to showcase academic programmes and students’ campus lives, UM’s various faculties and residential colleges prepared a lot of fun filled activities for the Open Day, including the Blackbox Theatre, stone rubbing, food sampling in the campus dining facilities, Card Production Workshop, lecture on whether cancer is curable, and moot court demonstration, to name but a few. There were also exhibitions, booth games, and student performances. To help the public know more about the campus, UM designed numerous touring routes and options, including campus tours guided by its PR Student Ambassadors.
…

2015 Macao International Environmental Co-operation Forum and Exhibition (2015MIECF) was successfully concluded today. The three-day event attracted over 9,600 visitors, with an increase in the number of trade visitors compared to last year. According to the participants, MIECF has successfully played its role as a green platform to promote regional and international development and co-operation. “Green Economy – Solutions for Clean Air” was adopted as the theme for the 2015MIECF. Since its inception in 2008, the quality of activities held under MIECF has constantly improved, and no efforts were spared in facilitating business matching and to promote business co-operation. This year, a number of renowned hotels including various local environmentally friendly hotels were invited to procure greens products and services at the venue and Green Matching sessions were arranged for local government agencies and public utilities organisations. An Eco-friendly Hotel Area was set-up this year, with the participation of a number of large local well-known hotels, including several “Green Hotel” awardees. Green products available for procurement include LED energy-saving products, solar systems equipment, air purifiers, sewage treatment equipment, electric vehicles, green cleaning products and waste recycling equipment. Several government agencies/public utilities organisations/public schools also participated in the procurement negotiations. Besides, many internationally renowned enterprises also sent staff to participate in the Green Matching, looking for co-operation opportunities in green technologies and seeking investment partners. During MIECF, networking sessions were arranged for the environmental industry, to provide an exchange platform for the environmental industry associations, chambers of commerce and trade promotion agencies. In addition, bearing in mind the development occurring in the neighbouring regions in recent years, the Organizer has also organised a Green Building Industry Networking Session for professionals in the construction industry and related fields to meet and exchange views and information about the latest technologies, as a mean to promote business opportunities and to enable MIECF to serve as a platform for the construction industry, particularly in the field of environmental protection. During the three-day event, agreements of 28 co-operation projects were signed. A total of 296 green matching sessions were held at the business matching area. Additionally, 8 networking sessions for the environmental industry were arranged. Hosted Buyers recommended by the Event Project Manager participated in 1,149 business negotiation sessions. For the first time, “Air Quality” was adopted as the focus of the six sessions and seminars held under the Green Forum. More than fifty environmental experts, leaders of multi-national environmental enterprises and regional policy-makers from nine countries and regions spoke on hot issues related to air quality , namely “The Business Case for Better Air Quality: Solutions for the Commercial and Industrial Sectors”, “Reviewing Air Quality and the Transportation Industry”, “Strategizing Climate Change – Innovation in Policy and Technology”, “Clean Urban Air – Lessons Learnt and Future Trajectories” and “Standardization Drives the Sustainable Development of Chemical Industry”. Experts sharing air pollution control technology and their experiences were one of the highlights of this year´s Green Forum. The keynote speaker at the Opening Ceremony was Dr Gro Harlem Brundtland, Former Prime Minister of Norway, former Chair of the World Commission on Environment and Development (the “Brundtland Commission”), Special UN Envoy on Climate Change and Former Director-General of World Health Organization (WHO), and generally recognized as the “Mother” of Sustainable Development. “A Special Interview Session with Dr. Brundtland” has been arranged, with a question and answer session to allow participants to interact with one of the world´s top environmental experts and learn more about her views on environmental and air pollution policies. Over 3,600 people participated in the Green Forum this year. This year´s Green Showcase covered an area of approximately 16,900 square metres. Over 450 exhibitors from 22 countries and regions showcased their products and services, ranging from energy efficiency, renewable energy, green building, green transportation, to waste and water management solutions, environment services, air quality, as well as other green products and services. At the VIP Exhibitors Zone, 16 local and overseas enterprises showcase their products and services, including renewable energy, energy efficiency, energy-saving products, green building services, power management and electric vehicles. In addition, buyers delegations from the Pan-Pearl River Delta and Southeast Asia were invited to participate in business matching. MIECF continued to organiser the Hosted Buyer Programme, Green Hotel Procurement Zone, networking meetings for the environmental industry, which enable exhibitors and buyers to explore business and co-operation opportunities. Ms Chan, who trades in cleaning supplies, said that through MIECF she has discovered that Macao offers great potential and hopes that her company´s research and business activities would be based in Macao in the future, and taking this city as the company´s headquarters in research and marketing products suitable for Macao as well as the Pan-Pearl River Delta. On the other hand, Mr Kang, who is in charge of another company, which serves as a platform for the marketing of products from many countries, said that his company operates as a platform for marketing international branded products in Portugal, the Asia-Pacific region and Australia, and that the main objective of participating in MIECF is to promote his company´s products. Mr Chan also said that he plans to set up selling points in Macao in August this year, to further expand the market. To actively promote the concept of a green exhibition, recyclable building materials were used for the design and setting-up of the venue, dispensing the use of carpets. Additionally, over 3,000 potted plants were used to decorate the venue and were distributed to the public in the afternoon of the last day of the event, which was designated as “Green Public Day”. This year’s MIECF is in line with the government policy in waste management by reducing waste at the source and recycling, and further decreasing the amount of waste generated by the event. The last day of the event, the “Green Public Day” was held under the slogan “Waste Reduction at Source Starts with Me” and attracted over 2,400 visitors. A series of family activities were organised focusing on environmental protection and energy conservation, including environmental workshops, game booths, stage performances and magic shows, turning MIECF into a creative environmental education material, to promote and raise environmental awareness. Over 500 teachers and students from 12 schools participated in the Green Public Day today, and for the first time, civil servants are organised by the department responsible for welfare services under the Public Administration and Civil Service Bureau to visit MIECF. Concurrent events held under MIECF include the Carbon Forum Asia Seminar, organised by the International Emissions Trading Association (IETA) for the first time in Macao, as well as the 1st International Conference on Promotion and Education of Green Enterprise and Green Management organized by the Green Environment Protection Association of Macau, are the networking platforms for international professionals. The next MIECF will be held from 31 March to 2 April 2016.
…

Green Public Day, one of the activities under 2015 Macao International Environmental Co-operation Forum and Exhibition (2015MIECF) took place today and attracted a large number of visitors. The theme adopted for this year´s Green Public Day was “Waste Reduction at Source Starts with Me”. By means of family activities, environmental-themed performances and magic shows, visitors got an opportunity to understand the importance of reducing waste at source and raise environmental awareness. 2015MIECF aims to promote the concept of “Thinking Green, Going Clean, Living Cool”. The number of visitors this year exceeded 2,400. A series of family activities related to environmental protection, including workshops, games booths, stage performance and magic shows, were held. In addition, an exhibition of the paintings of the winners of the “I´ve Got Solutions for Reducing Plastic Use” creative painting competition was on show, to encourage the practise of reducing the use of plastic materials. Green Living Station continued to display and sell all types of environmentally friendly products, to promote green consumption. To encourage everyone to jointly participate in the development of a green city, potted plants were distributed to the public at the end of the event, hoping that they would give continuity to the green concept and enjoy a pleasant weekend. Lucky Draws were held and the winners received a special edition electronic stored-value cards (with a value of MOP50.00), designed by the Environmental Protection Bureau with slogans to encourage green consumption and green transportation. At the exhibition venue, a booth was installed for the public to apply as member of “Eco Fun – Waste Separation, it´s a Lot of Fun”. New members immediately got 50 points and existing members who have participated in the Green Public Day activities today also received a bonus of 50 points. Green Public Day is an ideal platform to promote the concept of environmental protection to Macao´s students, to enhance their environmental awareness, promote the concept of MIECF and encourage them to be more aware of the importance of caring for the environment. Apart from the environmental-themed songs performed by the Choir of Luso-Chinese Vocational-Technical School, guided tours were also organized for the schools that visited the venue, to disseminate environmentally-friendly messages and behaviours, and putting the concept of “Waste Reduction at Source Starts with Me” into practice. Over 500 students from 12 schools participated in the Green Public Day today, including Macao Polytechnic Institute, Lingnan Middle School, Colégio Santa Rosa de Lima (English Secondary Section), Escola Xin Hua (Secondary Section), Escola Choi Non Chi tai (Secondary Section), Escola Choi Non Chi Tai (Primary Section), Hou Kong Middle School Hou Kong Middle School (Primary Section), Premier School Affiliated to Hou Kong Middle School, Sheng Kung Hui Choi Kou School (Secondary Section), Escola Nossa Senhora de Fátima (Primary Section) and Luso-Chinese Vocational-Technical School. For the first time, civil servants are organised by the department responsible for welfare services under the Public Administration and Civil Service Bureau to visit the MIECF venue. According to the participants, the Green Public Day helped to enhance their awareness of green living and understand the importance of environmental protection. The Organiser hopes that this activity will help to promote environmental protection, encourage the public to put the concepts into practice and build a green low-carbon city.
…

After years of development, MIECF has become a high-level and efficient international networking platform, attracting every year a great number of exhibitors and buyers, showcasing the latest environmentally friendly products and services. Furthermore, MIECF also creates co-operation opportunities for both local and overseas enterprises, and offers unlimited business opportunities. The Green Showcase this year has attracted the participation of over 450 exhibitors from more than 22 countries and regions. The provinces and regions in the Pan-Pearl River Delta Region (known as “9+2”) continue to participate and set up their own exhibition zone. The Themed Pavilion and the Countries/Regions Pavilions included the Ministry of Science and Technology´s Exhibition Area, Pan-PRD Region´s Exhibition Zone, Macao´s Exhibition Zone, International Exhibition Zone, Europe Pavilion, USA Pavilion and the VIP Exhibition Zone. Organisations and enterprises from Portuguese-speaking countries like Portugal and Brazil also participate in this year’s event again. Mr Chan, from a building materials company, said that his company is participating for the second consecutive year. He participated for the first time last year with no related experience and established contacts with other companies through the Green Showcase, Green Matching and Green Forum. After that, his company became the first construction company engaging in house building in Mozambique. The government of Mozambique attaches great importance to the use of environmentally friendly construction materials, he said. Because of this, his company seeks co-operation opportunities with suppliers of green construction products. Mr. Chan stressed that, after a year of continuous efforts, his company has found two green construction materials brands from Mainland China and that the respective co-operation agreements were signed at this year´s MIECF, and become the sole agent for these two brands in Macao, Africa and the Portuguese-speaking countries. Products of the afore-mentioned companies will be used in the Mozambique construction projects, he said. According to Mr Chan, his company has two construction projects in Mozambique. One of which, the construction of a resort, is already under way, while the other one is a residential complex with fifty thousand apartments. Being the agent of the products, he said that the local government attaches great importance to the green construction materials used, and that the products are very suitable for the market in terms of price and quality. Therefore, he is quite happy to be the agent for the said brands. Mr Chan is pleased that his participation in last year´s MIECF contributed to his company´s co-operation with Mainland China´s brands and stated that Macao´s exhibitions, such as MIECF and the Macao International Trade and Investment Fair (MIF) play an important role in assisting local enterprises to go global. He said that environmentally friendly building materials are the trend of future development and that there is a great demand for these materials in the Third World Countries. After the completion of the projects in Mozambique, he would consider East Timor as the location for the next project, given that it is a new nation and the only Portuguese-speaking country in Asia. The development of that country will require a great quantity of green building materials in the future, he stressed. On the other hand, another exhibitor is a consultant company providing indoor air quality testing and certification services for buildings. According to the persons in charge of that company, Ms Choi, Mr Leong and Mr Lau, their company provides a series of consulting and certification services, including design, on-site monitoring, laboratory design, energy date analysis, monitoring and assessment and green building certification. They pointed out that all businesses expect return on their investment and that it is quite difficult to quantify the investment in indoor air quality, given that good air quality creates healthy and comfortable working environment to protect the health of the employees. Therefore, it is difficult to calculate the return in terms of money. However, some countries or regions provide certain preferential treatments to green buildings. For example, in Hong Kong, buildings which fulfil specific environmental guidelines may be exempted from the calculation of the gross floor area of certain areas. In Mainland China, buildings that reach certain environmental standards can also enjoy tax incentives. All these are incentives provided to developers for building green buildings, and also the market that their company is providing services in. The company has obtained the certification qualifications from the Hong Kong Accreditation Service. Their company can test and provide certification for indoor air quality equipment and that the certificates issued by their company are recognised worldwide. Such certificates are valid for one year, to ensure that the party concerned could maintain the indoor air quality. They said that the main objective of their participation in MIECF is to enable more people to know about their company, and, in turn, they could also get a better understanding of the market situation, this being their biggest accomplishment. They believe that through the participation in MIECF, they could establish contacts with other companies and organization, to explore business opportunities. In addition, a “Green Building Industry Networking Session” was held, to provide an opportunity for construction industry to exchange information about the latest technologies, and to explore business opportunities.
…

On the second day of the 2015 Macao International Environmental Co-operation Forum and Exhibition (2015MIECF), four sessions and one seminar were held at the Green Forum. Participants delivered speeches and discussed about issues relating to air quality and agreed that the Green Forum has satisfactorily performed its function of exploring issues of air quality around the world. The themes of the sessions held today included “Strategizing Climate Change Mitigation- Innovation in Policy and Technology”, “Clean Urban Air – lessons Learnt and Future Trajectories”, “Special Interview Session with Dr. Gro Harlem Brundtland” and “Air Pollution Prevention Policies and Treatment Technology in the Pan-Pearl River Delta Region Roundtable Discussion”. At the “Clean Urban Air – Lessons Learnt and Future Trajectories” Session, several success stories of cities setting good air quality standards were presented and discussions were made on the key factors that reduce air pollution and emissions without compromising economic growth. Professor Hao Jiming, Member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and Dean of the Institute of Environmental Science and Engineering of Tsinghua University (China) delivered his keynote speech, to introduce the works done by China in treating air pollution. Professor Li Jinhui, Professor of School of Environment, Tsinghua University (China) was the moderator of this session. Other speakers included Mr. Feng Bo, Division Director, Department of Science, Technology and Standards, Ministry of Environmental Protection of the People´s Republic of China; Dr. Liu Wenqing, Director, Anhui Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Chinese Academy of Engineering (China); Mr. Elliot Treharne, Air Quality Manager, Great London Authority (United Kingdom); Mr. Dave Ho Tak Yin, Principal Environmental Protection Officer (Air Policy), Environmental Protection Department of the Hong Kong SAR Government (Hong Kong, China); Dr. Jason Blake Cohen, Assistant Professor, Department of Civil Environmental Engineering, National University of Singapore (Singapore). Professor Hao Jiming said that it is necessary to introduce revolution in energy consumption, in order to reduce irrational consumption of energy; promote revolution in energy supply, in order to create diversified energy supply systems; promote energy technology revolution, to motivate the upgrade of the industry; promote revolution in the power system, in order to open-up supply channels. At the same time, it is also necessary to promote the prevention and treatment of mobile sources of pollution, given that pollution generated by vehicles is one of the challenges that China must face. It is also necessary to deal with non-road mobile pollution, he added. According to Professor Hao Jiming, promoting the study on the impacts of air pollution on human health will become the major drive for improving air quality and reducing pollution. Therefore it is necessary to improve the accuracy, reliability and openness of the roadside monitoring stations, aim at increasing the capacity in scientific authentication and decision-making by means of various approaches such as technology development and reduction of emissions at source. To control pollution, it is necessary to establish goals for environmental quality, as well as continuous and gradual efforts. He stressed that this is the only way that we can expect any improvement in air quality. Mr. Yu Jixin, Secretary, ESCAP/WMO Typhoon Committee Secretariat (Macao, China) was the moderator for the “Strategizing Climate Change Mitigation – Innovation in Policy and Technology” Session. Speakers included Mr. Li Junfeng, Director, National Center for Climate Change Strategy and International Cooperation of the People´s Republic of China; Ms. Ana Teresa Perez, member of the Governing Council, Portuguese Environment Agency, Public Institute (Portugal); Mr. Fong Soi Kun, Director, Meteorological and Geophysical Bureau (Macau, China(); Mr. Zhang Feng, Deputy Director of Policy Research Office, Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau (china), Mr. Stefan M. Better, Senior Policy Advisor, International Partnership for Energy Efficiency Cooperation (France); Professor Gao Xiang, Vice President of Energy Engineering, Zhejiang University (China) and Mr. Jeff Swartz, International Policy Director, International Emissions Trading Association (IETA) (Switzerland). The participants reviewed the various strategies to slow down climate change, including the promotion of technology innovation, technology transfer, as well as supporting policies and strategies; identifying the systematic impact of adopting emission reduction policies; nurturing favourable conditions to transform the concern for the emission-reduction into sustainable development strategies. The participants remarked that Macao needs to further extend and strengthen the monitoring of climate change and the collection of the respective data, so as to create a comprehensive database to serves as a reliable and comprehensive source of information for the preparation of reports, research projects as well as the formulation of future policies. At the same time, with regard to Macao´s vulnerabilities, participants proposed the adoption of scientific strategies to address climate change, with regular evaluation and timely adjustments and improvements. Also, it is necessary to improve the current natural disaster warning system and the mechanism for handling emergencies, in order to cope with more extreme and severe weather incidents and water scarcity which could be caused by climate change. It is also suggested to incorporate the impacts and strategies for tackling climate change into the economic and social development plan, so as to enhance the city’s overall capacity in tackling climate change. Dr. Zhao Wei, Rector of the University of Macau, was the moderator at the Special Interview Session with Dr. Gro Harlem Brundtland, Former Prime Minister of Norway, Chairman of the World Commission on Environmental and development (the “Brundtland Commission”, Special UN Envoy on Climate Change and Former Director-General of World Health Organization (WHO), generally recognized as the “Mother” of sustainable development. Dr. Brundtland stressed that climate change around the world is constantly undergoing changes and that the problems are becoming increasingly challenging. Under this circumstance, it is necessary that all countries fulfil their own responsibilities, to reach a consensus and establish objectives, stressing that problems could only be solved with the concerted efforts of everyone. During the two-day Forum, six sessions and one seminar were held. Over 50 specialists in environmental protection, leaders of multi-national companies in the environmental industry and regional policy-makers from China, the United Kingdom, France, Norway, Portugal, Switzerland, Singapore, Hong Kong, China and Macao, China delivered speeches on the hot topic of “air quality”. According to the participants, the Green Forum played an important role in exploring the various issues related to air quality around the world.
…

The Green Public Day, which will take place tomorrow, on the last day of the 2015 Macao International Environmental Co-operation Forum and Exhibition (2015MIECF), will be held under the theme “Waste Reduction at Source Starts with Me”. It is open to the public and admission is free. By means of family activities, environmental-themed performances and magic shows, the Green Public Day aims to enhance environmental awareness and encourage the public to practise waste reduction at source. 2015MIECF aims to promote the concept of “Thinking Green, Going Clean, Living Cool”. Based on the theme of this year´s Green Public Day “Waste Reduction at Source Starts with Me”, a series of families activities related to environmental protection will be organised, in addition, there are workshops, games booths, stage performances and magic shows. An exhibition of the paintings of the winners of the “I´ve Got Solutions for Reducing Plastic Use” creative paintings competition will be held, to encourage the practise of reducing the use of plastic materials. Green Living Station will continue to display and sell all types of environmentally friendly products, to promote green consumption. Furthermore, visitors who have collected the stamps of the four mascot of the Environmental Protection Bureau, namely, “Mr. Earth”, “Mrs. Tree”, “Brother Cloud” and “Sister Flower” at the Green Stations in the exhibition revenue, will have a chance to redeem a variety of exquisite environmental gifts from the Environmental Protection Bureau. The four mascots will also show up at the venue for photo taking sessions with the public, so that everyone will be able to spend a pleasant green weekend. To encourage everyone to jointly participate in the development of a green city, live plants will be distributed to the public at the end of the event, so that they could continue the green concept. There will also be lucky draws and the winners will have the opportunity to receive a special edition electronic stored-value cards (with a value of MOP50.00), designed by the Environmental Protection Bureau with slogans to encourage green consumption and green transportation. At the exhibition venue, there is a booth for the public to apply as member of “Eco Fun – Waste Separation, it´s a Lot of Fun”. New members will immediately get 50 points, and existing members participating in the Green Public Day activities will also receive a bonus of 50 points (limited to local residents and each member is only eligible for one prize). Green Public Day is an ideal platform to promote the concept of environmental protection to Macao´s students, to enhance their environmental awareness, promote the principles of MIECF and encourage them to be more aware of the importance of caring for the environment. In this connection, the Organiser will provide on-site green guided tours to schools registered for this service. The Choir of the Luso-Chinese Vocational-Technical School will perform and sing environmental-themed songs. Through the songs lyrics, the teachers and students aim to disseminate environmentally-friendly attitudes and behaviours, bearing in mind that “Waste Reduction at Source Starts with Me”. A total of 10 schools and approximately 500 students have registered for the guided tour include Lingnan Middle School, Colégio Santa Rosa de Lima (English Secondary Section), Secondary Section of Escola Xin Hua, Primary Section of Escola Choi Non Chi Tai, Hou Kong Middle School, Premier School Affiliated to Hou Kong Middle School, Escola Nossa Senhora de Fátima (Primary Section) and Luso-Chinese Vocational- Technical School,. For the first time, civil servants are organised by the department responsible for welfare services under the Public Administration and Civil Service Bureau to visit the MIECF venue. To facilitate public access to the venue and promote green transportation, four shuttle bus routes will be provided on the Green Public Day, with departures from Avenida Doutor Mário Saores (Macau Square), Avenida Conselheiro Ferreira de Almeida (Pak Wai Public Car Park) and Estrada Marginal do Hipódromo (near Royal Supermarket). There is a new pick-up point at Rua de Guimarães, Taipa (Central Park, in front of Nova Park Building) to and from the exhibition venue (Venetian Macao-Resort-Hotel). For further information, please visit the official website – wwww.macaomiecf.com. Furthermore, free parking will also be available at Hall D of Venetian Macao-Resort (from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.), on a first come, first served basis. All are welcome to visit MIECF, along with relatives and friends.
…