Promoting green transport is one of the main policy objectives of the Hong Kong SAR Government (the Government) to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. A motion on “Comprehensively promoting the development of hydrogen energy industry in Hong Kong” by the Legislative Council and several agreements-in-principle on trial projects on hydrogen fuel technology given by the Environment and Ecology Bureau-led Inter-departmental Working Group on Using Hydrogen as Fuel begin a new chapter on developing new energy transport in Hong Kong.

Following the previous “Green Transport Survey” (the Survey) in 2022, Green Sense conducted a similar survey from June to August 2023 and a total of 469 questionnaires were collected. The Survey aims to assess the commuting habits and patterns of the general public, understand the acceptance of introducing sustainable transport in Hong Kong, and examine the willingness to share the cost incurred when switching to eco-friendly vehicles. The Survey particularly analyses the factors when choosing internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles over new energy vehicles, or vice versa, and studies the incentives to switch to new energy vehicles or public transport. After data analysis and comparison, the key outcomes of the Survey are as follows:

1. Work locations expanded to non-central business districts (CBDs)

Based on the responses from individuals who commute mainly for work, work locations have been sprawled from traditional CBDs, such as Central and Western District and Yau Tsim Mong District, to inner areas of Hong Kong such as Eastern District, Sha Tin District, Sham Shui Po District and Kwun Tong District, etc. Green Sense believes that the phenomenon is associated with several land use planning policies and projects by the Government, such as revitalization of industrial buildings and the Energizing Kowloon East initiative. It is suggested that the authorities and transport operators should augment public transport services during peak hours in these regions and should consider opening new public car parks on the outskirts to alleviate regional traffic demand.

2. Increasing use of electric vehicles (EV)

The percentage of respondents using EVs has significantly increased from 11% in 2022 to 32% this year. The “One-for-One Replacement” scheme and tax concessions for EVs effectively incentivize individuals to make the switch from fuel-propelled vehicles to EVs. The Survey also reveals that most private car drivers are willing to switch to EVs due to various concession schemes and subsidies provided by the Government, as well as environmental consideration.

It is understood that car dealerships need to estimate car sales in advance to prepare for delivery, and whether the tax concession policy continues has a significant impact on car sales. Green Sense recommends that the Government regularize the First Registration Tax concession policy, and increase the number of quick EV charging stations to attract more private cars to be replaced by electric vehicles as soon as possible, so as to achieve the target of ceasing new registration of fuel propelled private cars by 2035.

3.  More than 90% of the respondents support the introduction of eco-friendly public transport, but about a quarter are unwilling to pay the additional cost incurred

More than 90% of the respondents support the gradual introduction of eco-friendly public transport, which is a similar result to last year. Due to the higher cost of operating and maintaining eco-friendly public transport, Green Sense investigated the willingness to pay extra fares to cover the cost, but about a quarter of the respondents are unwilling to pay the additional cost, and nearly 40% of the respondents are only willing to pay less than $1.

Countries of the European Union, such as France and Germany utilize green bond funds to subsidize the development of green transport, relevant policies include the introduction of public transport monthly passes, expansion of the railway network, and improvement of water transport. Green Sense suggests that the Government should make good use of the Green Bond Programmes to enhance public transport services, or to provide more fare concessions to citizens who regularly use public transport.

4. Railway and buses are the main modes of transportation, 10% are minibuses, and few respondents use active transport

Railway is the main mode of transportation, followed by buses and minibuses, while walking and cycling accounted for about 5%. Achieving zero-carbon transportation is mainly focused on railways and buses, and green minibuses, which account for nearly 10% of the market, should also be considered in the future.

Various public transportation has begun trials on new energy vehicles (e.g. buses, minibuses, taxis). Green Sense suggests that more charging locations should be reserved for taxis and minibuses in future new development areas or redevelopment projects in Hong Kong, aligned with current land use planning policies and principles. For example, replacing petrol filling stations with EV charging stations, conducting research and taking measures on the long-term development of hydrogen transport.

All can take action on easing the Global Warming.

While turning on the air con at home on hot days, are you aware of heating up the outdoor temperature?

Hong Kong consumed 4.48 billion kWh of electricity in 2019, of which air-conditioning made up around 30% (1.34 billion kWh of electricity) of the total, that equates releasing 7.44 million tonnes of carbon emission to the atmosphere.

If we rely on indoor air conditioning when the weather gets hotter, a vicious positive feedback is formed in warming the planet.

Using less air conditioning is truly a way in cooling the Earth.

All are welcome to join the “No Air Con Night 2020″ on 9th October (suggesting from 7 pm). The first step of change can be taken by turning off the air con at home together.

Sign up here: www.noaircon.com

Local green group Green Sense has long been paying close attention to urban environmental issues. Multiple scientific surveys have been conducted on both individual and organizational misuse of air conditioning in order to urge Hong Kong to reduce its electricity consumption and carbon emission. Surveys and researches examining air conditioning systems in various transport means and public places such as shopping malls were done throughout this decade.

Research background

According to ‘Hong Kong Energy End-use Data’ 2019 published by the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department, commercial buildings account for 66% to the total electricity consumption, of which 30 percent is used in air-conditioning. Specifically, energy consumption by end-uses in office for air-conditioning accounts for 55%. ^[1]This reflects that air-conditioner is inseparable with offices.

In addition, studies showed that the temperature in offices affects the working efficiency and productivity, even the relationship among colleagues. ^[2]However, 40% of workers cannot adjust the temperature in offices.^[3]

In order to arouse public awareness in wise use of air conditioning, we recently conducted a survey to investigate whether the air conditioner is probably used, the relationship between the air conditioner and working efficiency, and factors affecting one’s decision to adjust the temperature.

Methodology

In July and August 2019, we, with the help of volunteers, conducted street questionnaire in 5 commercial districts, namely Central, Admiralty, Quarry Bay, Kowloon Bay, and Kwun Tong. A total of 506 valid responses were collected. All results and graphs are available here.

Major findings

1. Half of the respondents feel too cold in the office, around 90% of them agree that the temperature affects their working efficiency. (Figure 1)
2. When feeling cold in the office, 70% of respondents passively adapt to it, which means they wear jackets or drink warm water. Only around 10% of respondents ‘actively take action’ to turn down the air conditioner. (Figure 2)
3. 60% of respondents cannot adjust the temperature of the air conditioner owing to the central air conditioning system (Figure 3). Among the respondents feeling cold in the office, 65% cannot turn down the air conditioner. (Figure 4)
4. The outdoor temperature ranges from 29°C to 35°C during the survey. Yet, nearly half of the respondents wore long sleeves. (Table 1)

Table 1

Results

Valid responses amounted to 506. The target group of the survey was residents working in the office. Summaries of responses of the 11 questions in the questionnaire are as follows:

1. (Q1) 50% of the respondents feel “very cold” and “cold”; 42% feel “moderate’; only 8% feel “hot” and “very hot”. This indicates the temperature setting of the air conditioner is too cold, which do not comfort the workers
2. (Q2) 47% of respondents consider 24-26°C as the most comfortable temperature, which is similar to the government’s proposal of turning the air conditioner to 25.5°C; Following by the option “21-23°C”, which 42% agreed with it. Only one respondent reflects that there is no air conditioner in the office. The results reflect that air conditioners have already been part of our working environment.
3. (Q3) 86% of respondents’ working efficiency is affected by indoor temperature. From the scale “0” as no effect to “4“ with great effect, 43% of them selected “3” and 25% select “4”. The average is 2.43.
4. (Q4) When feeling cold in the office, 76% of respondents wear jackets; Following wearing jackets are drinking warm water (24.7%) and turning down the air conditioner (22.9%). Other methods include turning on the heater, using an electric blanket, etc. Turning on the air conditioner while using these devices create wastage of electricity.
5. (Q5) 11% of respondents had conflicts with colleagues because of the temperature of the air conditioner.
6. (Q6) Only 40% of respondents can adjust the temperature of the air conditioner. This implies that even feeling cold, they cannot turn down the air conditioner.
7. (Q7) The major reason for the above situation is attributed to the central air conditioning system (71%). Moreover, 14% and 13% of respondents answered ‘do not know how to adjust the temperature’ and ‘have no authority to adjust’ respectively.
8. (Q8) The number of questionnaires collected in each district
9. (Q9-10) The sex and age distribution of the respondents
10. (Q11) 47% of the respondents wear long sleeves on that day

Conclusion and suggestion

Turning on the air con while wearing long sleeves is definitely a waste of electricity. Global warming is increasingly serious. Hong Kong, as a coastal city, will bear the brunt of global warming in rising of sea level. Therefore, it needs a stronger action to reduce carbon emission. As commercial activities consume the most in terms of electricity, at the same time the use of air conditioners accounts for a high proportion, it could be a way to combat global warming. Reducing electricity usage can even prevent the government to buy electricity from mainland China, which enables Hong Kong to have a more stable and sustainable electricity supply.

With the aim of raising public awareness in reducing the usage of the air conditioner, together with the above findings, the following are some of the recommendations to the government, companies, and individuals.

The Government:

• Promoting casual dressing to work, like conducting a Pilot Scheme in governmental offices
• Encouraging companies to participate in the government’s Energy Saving Charter
• Following the Indoor Air Quality Certification Scheme and IAQ Certification Scheme for Offices and Public Places, encourage companies to comply with the listed standards, like setting the indoor temperature in between 20 to 25.5°C and speed of air movement. Suitable indoor temperature could help improve the indoor air quality

Company:

• For companies using the central air conditioning system, they should reflect the needs to turn down the air conditioner to the property management offices
• Apart from meeting clients, “smart casual” instead of “formal” dress code is suggested, to reduce the usage of the air conditioner
• Using fans to assist the air conditioner, which can reduce the electricity consumption of the air conditioner
• Installing shading curtain, or applying window film to prevent direct exposure to sunlight

Individual:

• Actively request for turning down the air conditioner instead of passively adapt to it
• Prevent the use of heaters or electric blankets to avoid further wastage
• Drinking water and using mat to reduce reliance on the air conditioner

Follow-up actions

• We shall continue to examine and monitor the public air con usage, and carry out further studies when necessary.
• Results of the survey would be widely promoted in our annual energy saving event No Air Con Night along with the message and related information of using air conditioners smartly

No Air Con Night 2019

Until 16th September, 13 universities and tertiary institutions, and 224 kindergartens, primary and secondary schools (102 kindergartens, 85 primary schools, and special schools and 37 secondary schools) have registered to participate in No Air Con Night 2019. Participating institutions have also promoted this green event on their campuses. In addition, more than 190 companies and organizations, as well as 700 properties have joined the event and agreed to promote it with full efforts among their employees.

We are now inviting various public figures to participate in the event to encourage the public. This year we are happy to have Mr. Mok Ho-kwong of Natural Network, influential travel writer Mr. James Akio Hong. We are also inviting LegCo members and district councilors to participate and motivate the public to turn off their air con at night.

On 5th October, it will be our 10th Anniversary Special: The Day and Night of No Air Con. the activity will start from 1 pm to 9 pm in Vessel 01, Kwun Tong Promenade. Bunch of interesting activities including workshops and workout classes will be held for the public to enjoy in an air con-free environment. We welcome all to turn off their air con, head out to Kwun Tong and have a great night at the promenade.

For more information about no air con night and energy-saving: http://greensense.org.hk/noaircon

The tour started from the ZCB. With detailed explanations from the staff, we were able to identify the serious consequences of climate change – a rise in temperature and extreme weather conditions becoming more common. As an international metropolis, Hong Kong has developed her own building strategies and green technologies to combat environmental problems.  Some of them were introduced in situ to reduce electricity and resources consumption of buildings: Smart-plug systems to monitor household and building electricity use, variable air volume system installed on the floor for cooling, and virtual reality softwares to replace conventional building design procedures. We also had a chance to test out several locally developed technologies.

Our next stop was the EMSD Headquarters building, which showcases various features of a green building. These include, apart from greening of the façade, solar panels, sunpipes and motion sensing lights that replace conventional lighting, double-layered glass windows for heat insulation, district cooling systems which use sea water as a coolant to replace traditional air conditioning, etc. The Headquarters, without a doubt, serve as an example and encouragement to transform Hong Kong into a low-carbon city.

Climate change is a pressing menace that simply cannot be neglected. Hong Kong, however, has yet to embrace environmental-friendly measures, and is thus to blame for contributing hugely to carbon emissions and aggravating global warming. As a response, the government has launched Hong Kong Climate Action Plan 2030+, which states that the ultimate goal is to reduce emission for 65% to 70% relative to 2005 levels by 2030. To achieve the target, the city will need efforts from the authorities to implement green energy policies and better town planning, efforts from various sectors to incorporate green concepts in building designs, most importantly, efforts from the public to keep up a more low-carbon, energy-efficient lifestyle.

To see highlights of the tour, please click: https://flic.kr/s/aHsm29wnti