The Men in Black Session : Three Scientists. Three Systems. One Planet. Part IV: Moderated Discussion

Professor Christine Loh is Chief Development Strategist at the Institute for the Environment, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. She is a leading voice on public policy, climate governance and sustainable development in Hong Kong, with experience spanning government, the legislature, think tanks, business and academia. Loh was Under Secretary for the Environment in the HKSAR Government from 2012 to 2017, where she worked on air quality, climate change, energy, nature conservation and stakeholder engagement. She also served as Special Consultant to the Chief Executive’s Office on ecological civilization and the Greater Bay Area from 2019 to 2020. Earlier in her career, she was a Member of the Hong Kong Legislative Council. At HKUST, Professor Loh focuses on climate policy, sustainability transitions, green finance, governance and regional cooperation. She is also a published author and frequent commentator on environmental policy, climate risk, China and Hong Kong affairs. She currently serves on the board of Towngas Smart Energy, and is Scholar in Residence at Asia Society Hong Kong from 2023 to 2026.

Professor Fei Chen is Associate Head and Professor in the Division of Environment and Sustainability at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. A leading urban climate scientist, he spent more than 26 years at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in the United States, where he led major advances in land, hydrology, weather prediction and regional climate modelling. Chen is internationally recognised for his work on land-atmosphere interactions, urban meteorology and climate resilience. He led the development of the widely used WRF-Urban modelling system, adopted by weather prediction centres and research institutions worldwide. He currently serves as Co-Chair of the World Meteorological Organization Urban-Predict Project, Co-Editor-in-Chief of Urban Climate, and Co-Chair of the Urban Meteorology Committee of the Chinese Meteorological Society. He is a Fellow of both the American Meteorological Society and the American Geophysical Union. His honours include the AMS Helmut E. Landsberg Award and the 2025 IAUC Luke Howard Award, the highest international accolade in urban climatology. At HKUST, Chen is advancing high-resolution climate information for tropical Asian cities, including through SEA4C, which supports adaptation, disaster risk reduction and sustainable urban planning across Southeast Asia.

Professor Benjamin Horton is Dean of the School of Energy and Environment at City University of Hong Kong and a leading coastal scientist specializing in sea-level change. He has received major accolades from the European Geophysical Union, American Geophysical Union and Geological Society of America. Professor Horton is a Fellow of both the Geological Society of America and the American Geophysical Union. He served as a Review Editor for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Sixth Assessment Report, has been a contributor to the Conference of Parties (COP), and is currently the Principal Investigator of UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development project, promoting global coastal policy through scientific leadership and interdisciplinary research.

Sam has been developing strategy and leading numerous projects focusing on the wildlife trade since 2016. His work entails conducting research, developing campaigns and engaging stakeholders. He manages the Foundation’s ‘Wildlife Product Seizures’ (WiPS) database and ‘Seizure to Sentencing’ (S2S) initiative, has co-authored numerous reports and papers on wildlife crime and exotic animal trade, led dialogues with the Hong Kong Government, civil society and the private sector, and presented in fora ranging from local schools to the United Nations. With over a decade of experience addressing environmental issues across Asia, Sam previously served as Cryosphere Programme Coordinator at the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), a writer for Columbia University, and consulted for several NGOs. Sam holds an MSc in Climate Change & Risk Management as well as a BSc in Geography from the University of Exeter (UK).

My Sustainability Goals for 2026:

1.  Strengthen Hong Kong’s wildlife trade enforcement by closing policy loopholes, enhancing enforcement and building stakeholder coalitions, directly supporting HK BSAP Action 1.6 and the 5YP’s ecological security pillar.
2. Mainstream the interconnectedness of climate and biodiversity into policy through targeted stakeholder engagement and capacity-building, contributing to HK BSAP Priority Action 2.5.