Natalie Chung

Although at the age of 26 Natalie Chung has done more than many will accomplish in a lifetime, somehow you get the feeling she’s just getting started. She began her journey at 18 when she co-founded V’air Hong Kong, a climate education startup promoting sustainable tourism that still operates today.

After gaining her bachelor’s degree from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Chung graduated with an MPhil in Environmental Change and Management at Oxford University. Today, she’s recognised as one of Asia’s leading climate advocates and social entrepreneurs. At the policy level, she also serves on the government’s Council for Carbon Neutrality and Sustainable Development and the Green Tech Fund Assessment Committee.

Chung’s biggest inspiration was when, at the age of 11, she heard about Dr Rebecca Lee. “She was the world’s first woman to leave her footprint in the Arctic, Antarctica and Mount Everest regions,” she says of the Hong Kong-born explorer. “Her vivid analogy of our planet being trapped in a microwave has been engraved on my mind ever since, propelling me to become a climate advocate.”

Things came full circle this year when Chung was invited as the only Hong Kong representative to take part in the Antarctic Climate Expedition, along with distinguished marine biologists, climate researchers and policymakers from around the world. This experience has propelled her to channel her energy towards educating people on the potential of oceans to drive carbon neutrality in Asia.

“Traditional climate solutions centre around terrestrial innovations,” she says. “I strive to shift the attention of Asian communities to the vast oceans, envisioning a sustainable blue economy as a powerful means of mitigating climate change and fostering adaptation and resilience.”

As for the future, not only does Chung hope to expand her climate advocacy work to emerging Asia and Pacific Island countries, but she’d also love to start a vegan bakery, and become both a certified forest bathing guide and a professional nature photographer. If anyone can do it, she can.