81 4. Temperature, air quality and health – implication for future climate Prof. Xiang-qian Lao (JC School of Public Health and Primary Care) The presentation showcased a study of green infrastructures and how they help to prevent flooding as well as ‘cool’ the city, using Kowloon as the focus. The study used a systemslevel understanding of urban infrastructures with respect to climate adaptation and resilience. Such an understanding could only be achieved through transdisciplinary and converging research that integrated knowledge about the functionalities of technology, people and the environment. The study presented new analytical tools and findings that could hopefully contribute to stakeholder discussions and decisions about transforming the urban infrastructure systems. 6. City-level and international collaborative projects for climate adaptation in China Ye Pan (Division of Public Policy, HKUST) 7 Workshop: Scholars’ Day Xiang-qian Lao, CUHK Climate change and air pollution may have serious impacts on public health. The presentation discussed the individual and combined health impacts of temperature and air pollution based on previous studies. Two studies conducted in Guangdong Province showed that temperature extremes (including cold spells and heat waves) could significantly increase the risk of death, especially in elderly people. Air pollution is one of the greatest environmental risks to health in the world, accounting for 7 million deaths annually; and that there is a clear connection between air pollution and climate change. One of the studies showed that climate and weather had strong influences on the spatial and temporal distribution of air pollution concentrations, causing indirect impacts on public health. Scientific evidence worldwide showed that climate change was impacting humans. Establishment of warning systems could be adopted as short-term strategies but in the long run, the aim should be to reduce emissions, improve air quality and ultimately mitigate climate change. 5. Infrastructure planning for a more climate resilient urban system Prof. Zhongming Lu (Division of Environment and Sustainability, HKUST) Zhongming Lu, HKUST Managing climate change risks requires not only long-term mitigation efforts, but also immediate adaptation actions. However, climate adaptation and risk management remain much lower on China’s domestic policy agenda than climate mitigation. With their lack of experience, expertise, and resources for climate change adaptation, many municipal governments in China try to establish partnerships with international institutions, which may bring a variety of governance resources, including financial support, technical assistance, and capacity building. By collecting over 200 international collaboration projects on climate adaptation in China and classifying them based on five dimensions: implementation level, adaptation area, function of international collaboration, form of international collaboration, and spatial distribution, this study provides a general landscape of China’s international collaboration related to climate adaptation. Ye Pan, HKUST
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