[Understanding the sources of carbon emissions in Hong Kong: Reducing carbon emissions starts from the source.]
Since the signing of the Paris Agreement by various countries, there has been a concerted effort towards energy conservation and emission reduction. In Hong Kong, the sources of carbon emissions mainly come from three areas: electricity consumption, transportation, and waste management. With energy saving and emission reduction elevated to a national-level task, Hong Kong has set ambitious carbon reduction targets. Based on the carbon emissions of 2005, the goal is to reduce carbon intensity by 65% to 70% by 2030, which corresponds to an absolute reduction of 26% to 36% and a per capita emission level of 3.3 to 3.8 metric tons. Carbon emissions refer to the release of greenhouse gases, including water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, fluorinated gases, and ozone. The concept of source reduction is highly effective; the largest contributor to Hong Kong's greenhouse gas emissions is electricity consumption, which accounted for 63% as of 2022. This is followed by the transportation sector at 19% and waste management at 8%. Therefore, the most immediate method to achieve results is to start by reducing electricity consumption.
Hong Kong’s primary target for reducing carbon emissions
In Hong Kong, 90% of electricity consumption comes from buildings, with commercial buildings accounting for 75% of that total. In September 2012, the government implemented the Building Energy Efficiency Ordinance, which mandates that 13 types of designated buildings, including all newly constructed buildings and existing buildings undergoing "major renovation works," must ensure that their building services installations meet the minimum energy efficiency standards and design requirements outlined in the Ordinance. The owners of these buildings are required to conduct energy audits for four types of central building services installations every ten years to align with the direction of energy conservation and emission reduction.
The 13 types of buildings specified under the Building Energy Efficiency Regulations:
1. Commercial buildings.
2. Those parts of a mixed-use building that are not used for residential or industrial purposes.
3. Hotel or guesthouse.
4. Common areas of residential buildings.
5. Common areas of the portion of a composite building used for residential or industrial purposes.
6. Common areas of industrial buildings.
7. Buildings occupied mainly for educational purposes.
8. Buildings occupied mainly for community purposes (including community halls and social service centers), and comprehensive-use buildings occupied for 2 or more of the above places.
9. Buildings occupied mainly for municipal purposes (including markets, cooked food centres, libraries, civic centers or cultural centers and indoor sports venues), and comprehensive-use buildings occupied for 2 or more of the above places.
10. Buildings occupied mainly for medical and health care services (including hospitals, clinics and rehabilitation centres).
11. A building owned by the Government used primarily to house persons during the performance of any function of the Government.
12. Airport passenger terminal.
13. Railway station.
Energy Audit Energy Audit Benefits
Energy Audit involves conducting an energy efficiency audit on four types of central building equipment within commercial buildings, analyzing data to identify opportunities and recommendations for managing energy efficiency. This includes air conditioning systems, lighting systems, electrical devices, elevators, and escalators. The energy audit must be verified and signed off by a registered energy assessor. Many buildings in Hong Kong have already undergone energy audits, and with the implementation of energy-saving optimization project recommendations, annual electricity savings can reach several million Hong Kong dollars.
Although there are still over five years until 2030, how much has the greenhouse gas emissions in Hong Kong improved under the continuous efforts of the Hong Kong government? Taking 2005 as the baseline, Hong Kong's greenhouse gas emissions were approximately 44.8 million tonnes of CO2-e, with a carbon intensity of 27.6 kg CO2-e per thousand Hong Kong dollars of local GDP. By 2022, Hong Kong's greenhouse gas emissions were approximately 33.5 million tonnes of CO2-e, a reduction of over 25%. The carbon intensity for 2022 was 12 kg CO2-e per thousand Hong Kong dollars of local GDP, representing a decline of more than half. To illustrate the energy-saving results specifically, using the carbon dioxide equivalent emissions per kilowatt-hour (0.66 kg CO2-e), the carbon emissions from 2021 to 2022 decreased by 1.2 million tonnes of CO2-e, equivalent to approximately 1.8 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity, resulting in electricity savings exceeding 2.2 billion Hong Kong dollars in one year.
Hong Kong Energy Audit (HKEA) provides energy audit services and energy efficiency optimization projects for 13 designated types of buildings in Hong Kong. Our team of professional engineers and registered energy assessors (REA), along with our construction team, are partners with building owners on the path to energy efficiency optimization. With extensive experience, we welcome inquiries regarding the pricing of energy audit services or recommendations for energy efficiency optimization projects from our customer service personnel and consultants.
