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The Task Force on External Lighting today (April 22) submitted its report to the Government.
The Task Force Chairman, Dr Albert Chau, said that to formulate appropriate recommendations on ways to tackle light nuisance and energy wastage problems that might be caused by external lighting, the Task Force has conducted thorough studies of the technical standards, parameters and implementation approaches adopted by overseas regulatory regimes.
Dr Chau noted that, in addition to holding document-based studies and discussions at meetings, the Task Force visited districts that have more complaints about external lighting to assess the applicability of overseas regulatory standards and parameters to Hong Kong.
To understand and assess the impact on stakeholders and the public before making final recommendations, the Task Force conducted a public engagement exercise from August to November 2013 to invite comments on the Task Force's proposal for requiring lighting installations with decorative, promotional or advertising purposes that affect the outdoor environment to be switched off at a preset time in order to address the issues of light nuisance and energy wastage, Dr Chau added.
The responses collected during the engagement exercise reflected a wide spectrum of opinions across various sectors of the community, ranging from calls for immediate legislation to fundamental objection to any form of regulation, including voluntary measures. The divergent views on the issue of external lighting seem to suggest that the community is not yet ready for rigorous regulation of external lighting such as legislative control.
"While the respondents' views on the appropriate measures to regulate external lighting installations are too diverse to develop any majority views, the outcome of the engagement exercise clearly indicates a genuine need for the community to act together to address the problems of light nuisance and energy wastage that may be caused by external lighting. Inaction is not an option," Dr Chau said.
Having thoroughly considered the views and comments received during the engagement exercise, the Task Force recommends the Government adopt a multi-pronged approach which comprises the following package of administrative measures:
(a) introducing a voluntary charter scheme to implement the requirement to switch off lighting installations of decorative, promotional or advertising purposes that affect the outdoor environment at a preset time. The charter scheme should be implemented as soon as possible, preferably no later than six months after the Government's acceptance of the recommendations of the Task Force;
(b) re-launching the Guidelines on Industry Best Practices for External Lighting Installations issued by the Government in 2012 to promote good practices on the design, installation and operation of external lighting installations for reference by property developers, architects, engineers, lighting designers, contractors, owners and users;
(c) organising award schemes to acknowledge owners and management of external lighting installations which sign up to the charter and adopt the good practices set out in the Guidelines;
(d) launching public education and publicity campaign programmes to raise public awareness of problems associated with external lighting;
(e) monitoring the impact of the administrative measures by conducting a survey two years after the implementation of the charter scheme and commencing preparatory work to pave the way for legislation in the event that the review after the implementation of the charter scheme indicates strong justifications for statutory control of external lighting installations; and
(f) submitting regular reports to the Advisory Council on the Environment on the implementation of the administrative measures, and continuing to take positive actions to handle complaints against external lighting.
"The Task Force believes the Government should devote sufficient resources to the implementation of the above measures with a view to enhancing public awareness of the issue and bringing about changes across the community in an incremental and progressive way," Dr Chau said.
The Government set up the Task Force in August 2011 to advise it on the appropriate strategy and measures for tackling nuisance and energy wastage problems caused by external lighting, having regard to international experience and practices. Members of the Task Force were drawn from a wide cross section of the community including professional bodies, relevant trades, the academic community and green groups. The Task Force invited comments from the public and stakeholders on the Task Force's proposal to regulate external lighting in August 2013. During the three-month engagement exercise, the Task Force received a total of 102 written submissions. It also held a public forum and two engagement meetings with stakeholders which attracted about 110 participants in total. The Task Force also attended 14 meetings to invite views from the relevant government advisory committees and trade bodies, as well as District Councils or their sub-committees where external lighting had been a subject of complaints.
The Task Force's report is available on the Environment Bureau's website (www.enb.gov.hk).
Ends/Wednesday, April 22, 2015
Issued at HKT 14:36
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