Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences has a mission to address the interplay between nature and the long-term sustainability of human society using a quantitative scientific approach. Our vision is to be unique and the first of its kind in Hong Kong in integrating and synergizing the domains of Earth Science and Environmental Science, tackling future global challenges such as climate change, the food-energy-water nexus, natural hazards, ecosystem degradation, and planetary health.
The United Nations has declared 2020-2030 the “Decade of Restoration”, responding to the urgent need to restore and rehabilitate destroyed and degraded natural ecosystems. These challenges are particularly relevant to coastal regions, where rapid urbanization has dramatically increased their vulnerability to environmental change. Hong Kong, as a global urban and financial center and part of the Greater Bay Area (the world’s largest megalopolis), is arguably the best location to train future scientists and professionals who will contribute to enhancing global society’s resilience towards environmental challenges in the “Climate Century”.
地球及環境科學系旨在運用定量科學方法，探討自然界與人類社會長期可持續發展之間的相互作用。本系是香港首個將地球科學與環境科學領域整合的系所。我們的目標是應對全球挑戰，如氣候變化、糧食-能源-水的關係、自然災害、生態系統退化和全球健康等。
聯合國已宣布 2020-2030年為「修復十年」，以響應修復被破壞和退化的自然生態系統的迫切需要。這些問題與沿海地區尤其相關， 因為快速城市化大大減弱了沿海地區抵抗環境變化的能力。香港作為全球金融中心以及大灣區(全球最大的巨型城市群)的一部分，可以說是培養未來地球與環境科學領域專業人士的最佳地點，我們將致力於為全球社會應對「氣候變化」及其他環境巨變帶來的挑戰作出貢獻。
