Hong Kong – SEE exchanges views with summer interns (with photos)

     The Secretary for Environment and Ecology, Mr Tse Chin-wan, today (August 9) met with summer interns of the Post-Secondary Student Summer Internship Programme to listen to their sharing of experiences and feelings during the internship, and encouraged young people to actively equip themselves to seize the opportunities brought by green transformation.
 
     When sharing their work experiences, participants of the internship programme mentioned that the programme provide them the opportunities to participate in environmental protection work in different areas. These tasks are of special significance to protecting the environment and they would be interested in participating in them in the future. 
 
     Mr Tse expressed his delight with the enthusiasm of young people to join the environmental protection industries. He pointed out that promoting green and low-carbon energy transition is now a dominant trend. This is not only for environmental protection and combatting climate change, but also a promising sector for economic development. It has brought enormous opportunities to Hong Kong, such as the development of various low-carbon technologies, green energy, energy storage and other emerging green industries, boosting economic growth and creating employment opportunities, which open up more development opportunities for young people.
 
     Mr Tse said that with numerous opportunities brought by green transformation, young people should seize the internship opportunities to accumulate experience in the actual work environment and actively equip themselves, laying a good foundation for their future career in environmental protection.
 
     Through the internship training, participants can learn more about government initiatives, including promotion of waste reduction and recycling, new energy development, promotion of electric vehicles, and construction of green buildings, with the aim of reducing carbon emissions and energy consumption, while creating a more comfortable and liveable environment in the city. 
 
     This year, a total of 55 students from local and overseas tertiary institutions participated in the summer internship programme organised by the EEB and Environmental Protection Department (EPD). The interns were assigned to work in different units of the EEB and the EPD, covering positions related to environmental protection, ecological conservation, green energy and energy conservation, climate change and sustainable development.
 
     This year’s summer internship programme lasted eight weeks from June to August. Apart from working in different units of the EEB and the EPD to gain practical experience, the interns have been arranged to visit various types of recycling facilities, including the Green@Community Recycling Network and glass bottle recycling facilities, as well as environmental protection infrastructure, such as T · PARK, the waste electrical and electronic equipment treatment and recycling facility WEEE PARK and the West New Territories Landfill, to learn more about the development of environmental protection facilities.