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Following is a question by the Hon Martin Liao and a written reply by the Secretary for the Environment, Mr Wong Kam-sing, in the Legislative Council today (May 6):
Question:
In connection with the Government's policies and measures to promote green buildings, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it knows the number, percentage and types of buildings completed within the past five years which meet the definition of "green building"; whether the authorities have quantified the contribution of these green buildings to the reduction of electricity consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions;
(2) whether the authorities have set targets on the number, percentage, types, as well as the rate of reduction in electricity consumption and GHG emissions of new green buildings to be built in Hong Kong in future; if they have, of the details, and how such targets compare with those in other countries;
(3) given that the Government set up the "Steering Committee on the Promotion of Green Building" in 2013 to coordinate the joint efforts of various policy bureaux and departments in reviewing the energy saving performance of old and new buildings of the Government and those all over Hong Kong, gauge the views of the industry and study overseas experience in order to further promote the green building policy, of the work achievements of the Steering Committee;
(4) given that the authorities will put forward a blueprint on energy saving and green buildings in the first half of this year, of the relevant objectives and propositions; whether the authorities will examine the provision of various incentives to further promote green buildings; if they will, of the relevant propositions;
(5) given that since 2011, the authorities have required all new private buildings to register for "BEAM Plus" certification for the granting of gross floor area (GFA) concessions for green and amenity features, whether the authorities will consider optimising the requirement, including granting different levels of GFA concessions according to the ratings of the "BEAM Plus" assessment attained by the buildings; and
(6) whether the authorities will consider providing incentives for building owners to encourage them to carry out maintenance works for their completed buildings in order to enhance energy efficiency of the buildings?
Reply:
President,
(1) Buildings account for some 90 per cent of electricity consumption and 60 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions in Hong Kong. Raising the environmental performance of buildings will have a huge synergetic impact on the sustainability of our built environment. The Government has been taking the lead in promoting green building in the some 8,000 government buildings. The Government has since 2009 adopted a target-based green performance framework for the new and existing government buildings. The Government has completed the review of the environmental performance targets and measures of government buildings, and has enhanced these environmental objectives and requirements. New government buildings with a construction floor area of more than 5,000 metres square will aim to attain "Gold" rating or above under BEAM Plus. 33 government buildings have now registered under BEAM Plus, of which the temporary office accommodation for the Energizing Kowloon East Office has been rated "Platinum" under BEAM Plus. The Cruise Terminal Building in Kai Tak Development Area and the Fire Station cum Ambulance Facility at Cheung Yip Street in Kowloon Bay, the Sports Centre, Community Hall cum Public Library in Area 14B, Sha Tin, and the Trade and Industry Tower in Kai Tak Development Area have obtained "Provisional Platinum" rating. Also, in 2009, we set a target of five per cent saving in the total electricity consumption in government buildings within five years under comparable operating conditions, using the electricity consumption in 2007/08 as the baseline. The Government had already met the five per cent electricity saving target in 2013/14. We have set a new target of five per cent saving in the electricity consumption of government buildings in the next five years from financial year 2015/16 to 2019/20 under comparable operating conditions, using the electricity consumption in 2013/14 as the baseline.
As for private developments, to foster a quality and sustainable built environment, the Government has since April 2011 implemented a package of measures, including setting an overall cap on gross floor area (GFA) concessions for new building developments and the prerequisites for obtaining the GFA concessions. These prerequisites include compliance with the Sustainable Building Design (SBD) Guidelines on building separation, building setback and site coverage of greenery where site conditions permit; the tightened criteria for green and amenity features; as well as completion of registration for BEAM Plus certification of the Hong Kong Green Building Council (but not mandating the rating to be obtained). Since the implementation of the measures in April 2011 and up to December 31, 2014, a total of 261 new development proposals approved by the Buildings Department (BD) had completed registration for BEAM Plus certification, including 84 domestic, 106 composite and 71 non-domestic building projects. Among these proposals, about 220 development proposals had to concurrently adhere to the SBD Guidelines. As these measures have been implemented for a short period only, the number of projects that have been completed in accordance with these measures is limited. We have yet to be able to assess the effectiveness of the measures, and will review the arrangements in the light of the experience gained after a reasonable number of projects have been completed.
(2) The Government has not set any target for the number of new green buildings to be completed in the future. Nevertheless, to enhance building energy efficiency performance in Hong Kong, the Government implemented in 2012 the Buildings Energy Efficiency Ordinance which mandates compliance with the minimum energy efficiency standards for the key building service installations of newly constructed buildings, as well as existing buildings which undergo major retrofitting works. This Ordinance also obliges owners of commercial buildings to carry out energy audits once every ten years, and to publish the audit results. We expect that for new buildings, the implementation of this Ordinance will result in an energy saving of 2.8 billion kWh in the first decade, or a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions of about 2 million tonnes.
Further, to save electricity consumption on air-conditioning for commercial buildings and hotels, legislation and guidelines have been in place since 1995 to require external walls and roofs of these buildings to be designed and constructed with suitable Overall Thermal Transfer Value (OTTV). Since April 2011, the BD has tightened the OTTV standard of the building envelope of these buildings by 20 per cent. The energy saved from this measure is estimated to be 2.4 per cent to 4.4 per cent. In September 2014, the BD took another step forward by promulgating a new Residential Thermal Transfer Value (RTTV) standard for residential buildings which took effect in April 2015.
(3) The inter-departmental Steering Committee on the Promotion of Green Building (Steering Committee) was set up in January 2013 under the chairmanship of the Secretary for the Environment. It comprises standing members from more than ten bureaux and departments, including the Environment Bureau (ENB), the Development Bureau and the Transport and Housing Bureau as well as the departments under their purview. The Steering Committee acts as the central coordinating body to coordinate efforts by various bureaux and departments in promoting green building in Hong Kong in a holistic manner. So far, the Steering Committee has held four meetings with the participation of representatives from the relevant departments. Apart from discussions at the meetings, the ENB has also discussed with individual bureaux and departments on specific issues relevant to green buildings. In addition, the Steering Committee has organised an engagement forum for stakeholders to seek views and suggestions from relevant professional groups, trades, academic organisations and environmental groups on the promotion of green building. The Steering Committee has reviewed and enhanced the environmental performance targets and measures for government buildings. The Steering Committee will continue to consider ways to promote green building in the private sectors.
(4) To promote energy savings and to reduce the demand for electricity consumption, we have reviewed Hong Kong's energy intensity target and have planned to enhance our efforts to promote energy saving through tightening regulatory tools, enhancing public education and mobilising stakeholders. Details of these measures will be set out in a document on energy saving to be released shortly.
(5) To enhance the energy efficiency of residential buildings, the Buildings Department implemented new guidelines in April 2015, which require the building envelope of residential buildings to comply with a new RTTV standard as a prerequisite for obtaining GFA concessions. As regards the measures implemented since April 2011 (including the requirement of registration for BEAM Plus certification) mentioned in the reply to part (1) of this question, given that these measures have been implemented for a short time only, the number of projects that have been completed in accordance with these requirements is limited. We have yet to be able to assess the effectiveness of the measures and have no plan to introduce changes for the time being. We will review the measure in the light of the experience gained after a reasonable number of projects have been completed.
(6) In 2009, the Government launched the three-year Buildings Energy Efficiency Funding Schemes (BEEFS) to subsidise building owners to conduct energy-cum-carbon audits and to carry out energy efficiency improvement works. The total funding allocation was about $450 million. Over 6,400 buildings, or more than one seventh of the total building stock in Hong Kong, have received subsidies under the Schemes. It is estimated that the total energy saving achieved by the approved project would amount to around 180 million kWh per annum, or about 120,000 tonnes reduction in carbon dioxide emission. The BEEFS were closed in 2012 as scheduled. We consider that the BEEFS have achieved their intended purposes, namely, promoting the building owner's awareness of the benefits of building energy efficiency and encouraging them to take concrete action to seek improvements. We will continue to promote the enhancement of building energy efficiency, including the full operation of the Buildings Energy Efficiency Ordinance. We will also review regularly the minimum energy efficiency standards prescribed in the Building Energy Code every three years.
In addition, during the Mid-term Review of the Scheme of Control Agreements in 2013, the two power companies agreed to set up energy efficiency funds out of shareholders' earnings to help the public enhance the energy efficiency of their buildings. In June 2014, the two power companies allocated about $100 million in total to set up two energy efficiency funds to subsidise building owners to carry out improvement works to enhance the energy efficiency of residential buildings. The two funds provide, subject to a ceiling, subsidies on a matching basis to non-commercial building owners to carry out improvement works to enhance the energy efficiency of their buildings, with priority given to single residential blocks.
Ends/Wednesday, May 6, 2015
Issued at HKT 18:09
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