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The following is issued on behalf of the Council for Sustainable Development:
The Council for Sustainable Development today (August 5) launched a public engagement process entitled "Combating Climate Change: Energy Saving and Carbon Emission Reduction in Buildings" to encourage stakeholders and the public to participate in the discussions on the concerns, incentives and possible action plans for the demand-side management of electricity consumption, with a view to further promoting energy saving and energy efficiency in buildings. This would in turn lead to a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and contribute to combating climate change.
Mr Bernard Chan, the Chairman of the Council, said that with some 90 per cent of Hong Kong's electricity being consumed in buildings, accounting for about 60 per cent of the territory's greenhouse gas emissions, it was vital to engage the whole community in efforts to maximise buildings' energy efficiency and to reduce carbon emissions. Mr Chan stressed that, while climate change and related issues may be too broad and sometimes too abstract for members of the public to comprehend, relating the topic to energy efficiency, energy and cost saving would help lay the context for solid action and implementation.
"The Council recognised that the management and efficient use of energy in buildings is an important area for combating climate change. Hence the Council proposed to focus on four core building user groups: household, office, retail and catering," said Mr Chan.
The Invitation for Response (IR) Document issued today provides information on existing measures to promote energy efficiency in buildings, and identifies possible areas for further enhancement. The IR Document will form a discussion framework for the public engagement process. The discussion areas can be broadly categorised into two general directions:
* Systemic Enhancement: Discussions will be framed to look at the potential tightening, expansion and review of regulatory measures, as well as to consider providing recognition for buildings that achieve high energy efficiency; and
* Facilitation of Behaviour Change: Views will be garnered on further adoption of energy/carbon audit, enhanced use of energy efficiency management systems, promotion of energy-efficient appliances in various trades, and possible review of the electricity tariff structure.
The Council will organise five regional forums to engage the community and stakeholders so that they can share their views and comments. In addition, more than 60 supporting organisations, including tertiary institutes, public authorities, research institutions, think tanks, green groups, non-governmental organisations (NGO), chambers of commerce and professional organisations, have been engaged to help disseminate information about this public engagement exercise. To widen and deepen public awareness about the importance of combating climate change, public awareness and education programmes are being conducted in parallel with collaborating schools and NGOs.
The IR Document can be downloaded from the Council's dedicated website (www.susdev.org.hk), and is available at public libraries and District Offices. Members of the public are encouraged to send views to the Council Secretariat (email: comments@susdev.org.hk; mail: Sustainable Development Division, Environment Bureau, M/F, Murray Building, Garden Road, Central, Hong Kong). The public engagement process will run for four months until December 4, 2011.
Ends/Friday, August 5, 2011
Issued at HKT 16:53
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