According to the Hong Kong Observatory, temperatures in Hong Kong are increasing at a rate of 1.2 degrees Celsius per 100 years.

Statistics from the Hong Kong Observatory showed that between 1885 and 2002, the annual mean temperature rose from 22.0 degrees Celsius in the late 19th century to 23.5 degrees Celsius in recent years.

The phenomenon of the temperature change is mainly due to global warming and urbanization, Senior Scientific Officer of the Observatory Edwin Ginn said.

Urbanization refers to a combination of factors including reduced air ventilation due to high-rise buildings and motor-vehicle emissions.

Global warming is due to the accumulation of carbon dioxide (CO2) gas that traps the heat on the Earths surface.

At a press conference on climate change held by Greenpeace yesterday, Ginn said the situation of temperature change in Hong Kong is consistent with that observed in other countries.

Global climate change is making a serious impact that costs money, as well as lives, around the world.

The most recent example was the 2003 summer heat wave in Europe that claimed 20,000 lives.

A leading European re-insurance company estimated that costs associated with climate impact are doubling every decade.

In 2003, US$65 billion was spent on climate change-related damages, Greenpeace International climate campaigner Red Constantino said.

The HK$65 billion includes HK$10 billion in agricultural losses caused by the 2003 heat wave in Europe.

The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) has predicted that as many as 64 per cent of the countrys glaciers may disappear by the end of the 2050s. Glaciers are a crucial source of water and play a vital role to maintain bio-diversity.

With the threat of global climate change, more than 80 countries will attend the first global government conference on renewable energy in Bonn, Germany, between June 1 and 4.

China will send to the Bonn meeting an eight-member team, including the Director of National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) Zhang Guobao and the Deputy Director General of the Energy Bureau of NDRC Wu Guihui .

Two Hong Kong university students will also participate in the event.

Henry Kwan, one of the Hong Kong youth delegates selected to address the meeting, said he would speak for the public interests of Hong Kong.

Well do what the SAR government needed to do in the conference, he said, alluding to the governments lack of interest in the issue by sending low-ranking officials to the conference.

(HK Edition 05/28/2004 page2)