CARE2022 Hong Kong Conference

82 7 Workshop: Scholars’ Day CLOSING KEYNOTE Preparing for the Unknown by Prof. Alexis Lau (Division of Environment and Sustainability, HKUST) Alexis Lau, HKUST Climate change adaptation as an iterative risk management process. There are known climate risks and there are unknown risks. Models are useful to assist thinking about the range of possibilities. Other methods are needed because models are unable to predict every risk that might happen. This presentation discussed tertiary climate risks that are indirect and nonlinear with unpredictable consequences because of climate change, and hence hard to prepare for. Examples discussed included wildfires, potholes, and deaths from heatwaves. A study is underway at HKUST to create an adaptation and resilience database that contains global news items using AI/Natural Language Processing to understand the consequences of what happened in different locations and cases from around the world. The presentation discussed the methodology used to collect data and information, and concluding that there could be co-learning and collaboration from around the world to adapt and build resilience.

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