Participants pledged to switch off the air con at home from 7pm on 5th Oct to 7am the next day. The event also urged people to reduce air con usage in daily life in order to enjoy the air-con-free environment and rethink how to use the energy and other resources wisely. The 9th Air Con Night responds to the extreme weather and super Typhoon. Hong Kong Government and citizens should act promptly in saving energy and tackling the climate change.

17 Universities and Higher Education Institutes, 309 schools (53 secondary schools, 122 primary schools and special school and 134 kindergartens) take part in No Air Con Night. There were thousands of teachers and students pledged and practice green living. Some schools also hold different kinds of energy-saving activities such as sharing information about global warming and heat island effect at morning assembly, switching off air con during school time in response to this campaign today.

No Air Con Night is also supported by 253 companies and organizations which promote this campaign to their staff. Over 900 buildings also encourage residents and tenants to join. Some property management companies are to turn off the air con at some areas of buildings and estates.

According to the No Air Con Night 2018 registration website , there were over 90 thousands families pledged to turn off the air con on No Air Con Night at home! If each household reduces at least 4.28 kg carbon emitted tonight by turning off the air con in 8 hours, we estimate the reduction of carbon emission by 385 tonnes in this campaign.

We aim to arouse people to rethink their lifestyle and understand the importance of saving energy from the increasing electricity consumption. This campaign also provided a chance for all citizens to reduce carbon emission in daily life.

In order to conserve energy and reduce carbon emission, we encourage the public to join “Energetic Night” at Tamar Park, Western District Promenade – Central Section. We welcomed all members of the public to enjoy the air con free environment together. Over a hundred participants have been signed up for Moonlight Orienteering, Street Workout, Yoga class on lawn and Stargazing.

More about the No Air Con Night and Energetic Night at Waterfront, please refer to http://noaircon.com

Thanks to all parties supporting the 8th Hong Kong No Air Con Night on 29th September

Green group and Director of the Hong Kong Observatory urge citizens: “Turning off the air con for cooling the earth!”

Air conditioning accounts for 31% of all electricity use in Hong Kong every year. Energy consumption boosts to 60% between July and August. Local green group Green Sense has long been paying close attention to energy saving and conducted researches on both individual and organizational misuse of air conditioning. Green Sense latest air conditioning survey released in September 2017 found that the abuse of air con is common. There are still a lot improvements at home, school, office and public transport area.

“Hong Kong No Air Con Night” is an annual energy saving event that aims to promote green practices and encourage people to bear the responsibility as a member of the earth village. Participants pledged to switch off the air con at home from 7pm on 29th Sep to 7am the next day. The event also urged people to reduce air con usage in daily life in order to break free from the air con and rethink how to use the energy and other resources wisely.

The 8^th Hong Kong Air Con Night responds to the implementation of The Paris Agreement for setting a goal of limiting global warming to no more than 2°C. More importantly, we experienced the hottest August in Hong Kong history. Hong Kong Government and citizens should act promptly in saving energy and tackling the climate change.

This campaign acquired full support from different parties. Environmental Protection Department, Electrical and Mechanical Services Department and Hong Kong Post have supported this event for consecutive years. Other government departments and public organizations such as Hong Kong Observatory, Food and Environmental Hygiene Department, Estate Agents Authority, Legislative Council Secretariat and hospitals under the Hospital Authority also showed their supports this year. Moreover, 12 Legco councilors and dozens of district council members joined No Air Con Night. Several political parties also joined this campaign to encourage citizens in different districts to turn off the air con.

Dr. Lee Lok Sze (Polar Explorer), Prof. Joseph SUNG Jao Yiu (Vice-Chancellor and President of The Chinese University of Hong Kong), Prof. Way Kuo (President and University Distinguished Professor, City University of Hong Kong), Prof. Lam Chiu Ying (Adjunct Professor, The Chinese University of Hong Kong), Mr. SIT Wing Hang, Alfred, JP (Dir of Electrical & Mechanical Services/Gen Mgr), Mr. SHUN Chi Ming, JP (Director, HK Observatory), Mr. LAI Hon Chung, Harry, JP (Dep Dir of Electrical & Mechanical Services/Regulatory Services) and Prof. HO Kin Chung (Dean, Science & Technology, The Open University of HK) are in the celebrity list.

According to the Hong Kong No Air Con Night 2017 registration website at noon 29/9, there were over 90 thousands families pledged to turn off the air con on No Air Con Night! A 1 HP air conditioner consumes around 1 kWh, turning up the device for a night equals 4.72 kg carbon emission. Therefore, we estimated that 94 thousands pledged families could reduce 750 thousands kWh and 444 tons of carbon emission.

18 Universities and Higher Education Institutes, and 348 schools (59 secondary schools, 151 primary schools and special school and 138 kindergartens) took part in No Air Con Night. There were thousands of teachers and students joined this campaign to experience and practice green living. Some schools also held different kinds of energy-saving activities such as sharing information about global warming and heat island effect at morning assembly, switching off air con during school time in response to this campaign.

No Air Con Night is also supported by over 250 companies and organizations which promote this campaign to their staff. Near 1100 buildings also encourage residents and tenants to join. Some property management companies even turned off air-con at some areas of buildings and estates. Moreover, CLP and HK Electric are going to provide the electricity consumption during the event to indicate the campaign effectiveness.

The No Air Con Night 2017 Turn-off Ceremony is held at Central & Western District Promenade – Central Section (near Tamar Park) this year. The guest of Honour Mr. SHUN Chi Ming, JP (Director, HK Observatory) share that climate change is imminent: “The first step of energy saving is turning off the air con. We must act now to reduce the carbon emission.” Green Sense president Mr. LAI ming-chuen also stated that: “Hong Kong No Air Con Night aims to arouse people to rethink their life style. Director of HK Observatory Mr. Shun reminded us that the importance of saving energy from the increasing electricity consumption. We can increase people’s awareness and influence our neighbour by turning off the air con and stopping discharge hot air to outdoor.”

After the Turn-off Ceremony, the public event “Energetic Night at Waterfront” will be held for all to enjoy the “Low carbon” promenade and celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival. We bring out the message of climate change through different activities, and call for people’s action in daily life to protect our planet Earth. At night-time, a hundred of people enjoy Fitness Thai Boxing and Yoga class on lawn, Moonlight Orienteering and Stargazing activities. We encourage participant to bring reusable tools and avoid disposable materials, to reduce carbon emission, solid waste and plastic waste at the same time.

Part of the Celebrity List :

Prof. Way Kuo (President and University Distinguished Professor, City University of Hong Kong)

Prof. Joseph SUNG Jao Yiu (Vice-Chancellor and President of The Chinese University of Hong Kong)

Prof. Lam Chiu Ying (Adjunct Professor of the Department of Geography and Resources Management, The Chinese University of Hong Kong)

Prof. HO Kin Chung (Dean, Science & Technology, The Open University of HK)

Dr. Edward Yiu Chung-yim (Scholar in Planning and Surveying)

Dr. Rebecca Lee Lok Sze, MH (Polar Museum Foundation Ltd. Founder)

Mr. SHUN Chi Ming, JP (Director, HK Observatory)

Mr. SIT Wing Hang, Alfred, JP (Dir of Electrical & Mechanical Services/Gen Mgr)

Mr. LAI Hon Chung, Harry, JP (Dep Dir of Electrical & Mechanical Services/Regulatory Services)

Hon. Kwok Ka-ki

Hon. IP Kin-yuen

Hon. CHAN Hak-kan, BBS, JP

Hon. KWOK Wai-keung

Hon. OR Chong-shing, Wilson, MH

Dr. Hon. Pierre Chan

Hon. WU Chi-wai, MH

Hon. Charles Peter MOK, JP

Hon. CHUNG Kwok-pan

Hon. WONG Ting-kwong, SBS, JP

Hon. Alice MAK Mei-kuen, BBS, JP

Hon. YIU Si-wing, BBS

More information can be viewed at 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

ZCB is a 3-storey building which comprises of an exhibition areas, an eco-home show flat, an office area and a multi-function hall. There is also a landscape area with first native urban woodland which has around 40 kinds of native trees.

As the first zero carbon building in Hong Kong, ZCB consists of over 80 different eco-building technologies that help reduce in 45% of energy demand compare to other buildings in current standard design. Moreover, photovoltaic panels and biofuel are used in ZCB to provide electricity not only for their own needs but also for the local grid. These features highlight the ZCB a unique site of Hong Kong Green Buildings.

The EMSD Headquarters Buildings is originally the former Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminal 2 building. It was revitalized and adaptive reused in 2005.  The revitalization conception with less demolition and construction waste makes it an ideal example of green buildings.

No matter the ZCB or the EMSC Headquarters Buildings, they both play an important role in building a green Kowloon East. By the end of this “Monthly Green” activity, participants will have a better understanding in how different building design can help with alleviating the global warming. Nevertheless, the wiser use of energy saving design and products are also vital.

Event Details:

Date:05-08-2017 (Sat)

Time:10:00-13:00 (3 hours)

Assembly Time: 09:45

Assembly Point: ZCB, Kowloon Bay

Fee: HK$50

Route: ZCB>EMSD Headquarters Buildings

Enrollment: https://www.eventbrite.hk/e/8-tickets-35927128007

Please contact Ms. Ma at 8100 4877 for any enquiry.