**********************************************************
The Environment Bureau today (May 14) unveiled the Energy Saving Plan for the Built Environment 2015~2025+, which sets a new target of reducing Hong Kong's energy intensity by 40 per cent by 2025. The plan is the first-ever energy saving blueprint for Hong Kong. It analyses energy use in Hong Kong and sets out the policy, strategy, target and key actions that can help Hong Kong achieve the new target.
The Secretary for the Environment, Mr Wong Kam-sing, said, "In Hong Kong, more than half of our total annual energy use is in the form of electricity consumption, with buildings accounting for about 90 per cent of the city's electricity use. Promoting green buildings and enhancing building energy saving has been one of our priority tasks. Since the 1990s, the Government has made considerable efforts in collaboration with building professionals to promote green building and buildings' energy efficiency. Building on our past achievements in energy saving and taking into account the energy saving potential in the building sector, we believe that Hong Kong is ready to set a more ambitious energy reduction target.
"To achieve our new target of reducing energy intensity by 40 per cent by 2025, we in the community must take collective actions to change our behaviour and to invest in more energy efficient products, technologies and practices."
To help Hong Kong achieve the new target to reduce energy intensity, the Government will take the following key actions:
* Economic: to take the lead in promoting energy saving and green building development by enhancing the green performance of government buildings, public housing and public sector developments, such as to set the target for all major new government buildings and new public housing to achieve at least BEAM Plus Gold and Gold ready respectively; and to achieve for government buildings a 5 per cent electricity reduction target by 2020 (2014 as base) and explore further reduction from 2020 to 2025 in 2019/20.
* Regulatory: to conduct periodic reviews to expand and/or tighten relevant energy-related standards including the statutory requirements under the Buildings Energy Efficiency Ordinance, the Building (Energy Efficiency) Regulation, and the Energy Efficiency (Labelling of Products) Ordinance.
* Educational: update schools and public education programmes and strengthen Government energy saving efforts by appointing Green Managers and Energy Wardens, and encourage public sector institutions to save energy.
* Social: support community campaigns through government funding schemes, and collaborate with key energy consumers in the commercial sector to develop sector-specific campaigns to promote energy saving. More importantly, the Secretary for the Environment will engage built environment leaders to accelerate green building adoption in the private sector
"In the coming decade, world demand for energy will rise as the global population increases. To tackle the problems arising from the burning of fossil fuels, including air pollution and climate change, it is imperative for us to be more 'Energy Aware', so that being 'Energy Wise' will become second nature to Hong Kong people. I hope the Energy Saving Plan for the Built Environment 2015~2025+ will stimulate all of us to take wiser action in order to develop Hong Kong into a low-carbon liveable city," said Mr Wong.
The plan has been uploaded to the webpage of the Environment Bureau (www.enb.gov.hk).
Ends/Thursday, May 14, 2015
Issued at HKT 15:40
NNNN
Windows Media format
Flash format