Secretary for the Environment of the Hong Kong government Edward Yau will attend the C40 Large Cities Climate Summit in Sao Paulo of Brazil next week to discuss strategies for tackling climate change with other member cities, the special administrative region's government said Wednesday in a statement.

Before the C40 Climate Summit, Yau will take a brief stopover in France and Austria to learn more about geological conservation and the latest developments in European waste-management technology, said the statement.

On June 1, Yau will attend the working session of the climate summit to discuss ways of reducing carbon emissions by promoting energy efficiency in existing buildings. He will speak at the summit working session on June 2 to share his experiences in promoting electric vehicles and improving building-energy efficiency in Hong Kong, and attend the closing ceremony.

C40 is a group of large cities committed to tackling climate change. The fourth biennial C40 Summit will take place in Sao Paulo from May 31 to June 2, bringing together mayors from leading cities around the world.