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Following is a question by the Hon Kam Nai-wai and a written reply by the Secretary for the Environment, Mr Edward Yau, in the Legislative Council meeting today (June 13):
Questions:
Regarding the Buildings Energy Efficiency Funding Schemes (BEEFS) and the Energy Conservation Projects for non-governmental organisations (NGOs) funded by the Environment and Conservation Fund (ECF), will the Government inform this Council:
(a)of the details of such schemes and projects and set out the relevant information in the tables attached:
(i)information on subsidising owners of residential, industrial and commercial buildings to conduct energy-cum-carbon audits (ECAs) in communal areas of the buildings (Table 1);
(ii)information on subsidising owners of residential, industrial and commercial buildings to conduct energy improvement works (improvement works) (Table 2);
(iii)information on subsidising NGOs to conduct ECAs in premises owned or occupied by them (Table 3); and
(iv)information on subsidising NGOs to conduct improvement works in premises owned or occupied by them (Table 4); and
(b)given that according to the information provided by the authorities, there were 779 improvement works and 127 ECAs approved by BEEFS with funding amount over $362 million as at January 2012 and, in addition, 187 improvement works and 18 ECAs for NGOs were approved by ECF:
(i)whether ECF has set any target or criterion for the numbers of and proportion between the two types of subsidised items of improvement works and ECAs; if it has, of the details;
(ii)whether the authorities have taken the initiatives to find out the reasons for the numbers of approved improvement works, either those involving buildings (565) or those of NGOs (187), were higher than the numbers of ECAs (121 and 18 respectively);
(iii)whether the authorities have conducted any review in respect of the difference between the numbers of approved projects under the aforesaid two types of subsidised items; if they have, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(iv)as the aforementioned schemes ended on April 7 this year, why the authorities neither continue the schemes nor launch a new round of schemes; whether the authorities will consider afresh launching the schemes again; if they will, of the details and the timetable; if not, the reasons for that; and
(v)whether the authorities plan to provide free energy audits or carbon audits for those buildings in which the aforesaid 779 and 187 improvement works were conducted after completion of such works; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
Our reply to the various parts of the question is as follows:
(a)With $450 million allocated by the Environment and Conservation Fund (the Fund), the Buildings Energy Efficiency Funding Schemes (BEEFS) were launched on April 8, 2009 to subsidise building owners to conduct energy-cum-carbon audits (ECAs) and carry out energy efficiency improvement works. In Hong Kong, buildings account for 90% of electricity consumption and 60% of our total carbon dioxide emissions. As private buildings account for a substantial percentage of the total building stock in Hong Kong (with over 40,000 buildings), promoting energy efficiency and carbon reduction in private buildings is a priority area of work of the Government. Hence, we have launched the BEEFS to encourage private property owners to take concrete actions early and to mobilise relevant sectors to participate in relevant work to collectively reduce carbon emissions from buildings.
The BEEFS were intended to last for three years or until the allocation of $450 million was fully utilised. Applications for the BEEFS closed after April 7, 2012. For a period of three years, since October 2009, the Fund has also been subsidising non-government organisations (NGOs) to conduct ECAs and carry out energy improvement works.
(i)Information on subisidies provided to owners of residential, industrial and commercial buildings to conduct ECAs in communal areas of their buildings is set out in Table 5:
(ii)Information on subsidies provided to owners of residential, industrial and commercial buildings to carry out energy improvement works (improvement works) is set out in Table 6:
(iii)Information on subsidies provided to NGOs to conduct ECAs in premises owned or occupied by them is set out in Table 7:
(iv)Information on subsidies provided to NGOs to carry out improvement works in premises owned or occupied by them is set out in Table 8:
(b)
(i)The BEEFS aim at promoting building owners' awareness of the benefits of building energy efficiency and encouraging them to take concrete action to seek improvements. The schemes do not set a specified number or ratio in respect of the subsidies granted under the two categories of ECA projects and energy efficiency projects (EEPs).
(ii)The number of approved EEPs is more than the approved ECA projects mainly because EEPs can achieve energy saving directly within a short period of time, for example, by switching to more energy-efficient lighting.
(iii)To encourage building owners to carry out ECAs, we have stepped up the promotion efforts with different organisations and bodies in various districts, including District Councils and NGOs, and briefed them on the benefits of ECAs. For instance, it enables relevant organisation to have a better grasp of the position of and data on energy consumption and carbon emission for the setting of energy saving targets and planning of energy improvement measures. The Fund also subsidises NGOs to carry out education and publicity activities, including those on the promotion of carbon audits.
(iv)Applications for the BEEFS closed on April 7 this year as scheduled. We consider that the BEEFS have achieved their intended purposes, namely, promoting the building owners' awareness of the benefits of building energy efficiency and encouraging them to take concrete action to seek improvements. The BEEFS have also been successful in motivating relevant sectors to grasp the business opportunities brought about by improving building energy efficiency. Since the launch of the BEEFS, over 20 training courses on energy and carbon audits have been offered for about 1,200 people by various training institutes and organisations. With services provided by the engineering sector and facilitation by the property management sector, building owners are well supported to pursue energy efficiency initiatives for their buildings.
We will continue to promote the enhancement of building energy efficiency. Among other things, the Buildings Energy Efficiency Ordinance (Cap. 610) will come into full operation in September 2012. The Government has also tightened the Building Energy Code. We will carry out carbon audits for major government buildings and public facilities and through funding schemes, encourage the business sector, major chambers of commerce and supporting organisations to join us in promoting carbon audits.
(v)Upon completion of the EEPs, subsidy recipients are required to submit reports setting out the information on energy consumption of the installations, and professional evaluation of the results of energy conservation. We believe that the information is sufficient to reflect the effectiveness of the projects.
Based on the approval statistics in the past few years, the BEEFS have helped enhance the community's awareness of the importance of buildings energy efficiency. The schemes have mobilised property owners to take concrete actions to reduce carbon emissions and improve energy efficiency. Of the total building stock in Hong Kong of over 40,000 buildings, more than one eighth of them have received subsidies under the schemes; there is also a change in the types of installations involved in the projects, from replacement of lighting installations, which is relatively easy to implement, at the beginning of the Schemes to large-scale projects involving replacement of central air-conditioning, lifts and escalators at the later stage of implementation of the schemes. The BEEFS have also encouraged cross-sectoral cooperation between the engineering and property management sectors to grasp the opportunities brought by low-carbon economy. Furthermore, although ECAs have not been pursued for too long in Hong Kong, they have been carried out in more and more buildings, which help identify room for energy saving and carbon reduction. There were also some buildings which had successfully applied for subsidies to implement energy improvement proposals as recommended upon completion of ECAs. The success of the BEEFS has helped lay a solid foundation for the full implementation of the Buildings Energy Efficiency Ordinance.
Ends/Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Issued at HKT 14:44
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