SIMON Corbell has let us all know that he’s been invited to Hong Kong to speak on a panel about his renewably powered efforts here in Canberra.

He will be part of a gathering of Nobel Laureates, representatives of city governments and NGO leaders at the 4th Nobel Laureates Symposium on Global Sustainability – 4C: Changing Climate, Changing Cities – in Hong Kong in October.

The symposium will see 14 Nobel prize winners attend, including Steven Chu (Physics 1997) Joseph Stiglitz (Economic Sciences 2001) Jose Ramos Horta (Peace 1996) and Australian prize winners Brian Schmidt (Physics 2011) and Peter Doherty (Physiology/Medicine 1996).

“It is an honour and privilege to speak about Canberra’s renewable energy and climate change polices at such a significant gathering of pre-eminent thinkers,” Simon said.

“The invitation to present is recognition of the international interest being shown in the ACT’s program to implement a 90% renewable energy target and achieve strong greenhouse gas reduction targets.

“Adapting to a changing climate and the need to decarbonise electricity supplies is a critical issue for national, sub national and city governments around the world. The ACT has proved itself an innovative renewable energy leader by putting in place policies to secure 490 megawatts of power from wind, solar and waste-to-energy projects.

“These policies will help the ACT achieve its target of 90% renewable energy in 2020. The ACT is also committed to achieving a 40% reduction in carbon emissions by 2020 and reaching carbon neutrality by 2060.

This year’s Nobel Cause symposium is focused on the response of cities in the Asia Pacific region to a changing climate.

Mr Corbell will participate in the session on “Visions for Places”, which will be chaired by ANU Adjunct Professor and former Chief Scientist, Dr Penny Sackett. The session will feature the 2001 Nobel Prize for Chemistry recipient, Ryoji Noyori, alongside representatives of other city governments, including Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, and Christchurch, New Zealand.

Hosted by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, the Environment Bureau of the Government of Hong Kong and the Asia Society Hong Kong Center the 4th Nobel Laureates Symposium on Global Sustainability runs from October 8-11.

The symposia series began in Potsdam in 2007 and was followed by events in London in 2009 and Stockholm in 2011.

Looking at the program for the event we see that Simon is speaking as part of a panel at 9.15am on day 3.