ENG-2013 — Page 294

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The Environment

As buildings account for about 90 per cent of electricity consumed, promoting their efficient use of energy is instrumental in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The Buildings Energy Efficiency Ordinance came into full force in September 2012, making implementation of the Building Energy Code mandatory to improve energy efficiency in new and existing buildings.

The government's district cooling system (DCS) at the Kai Tak Development provides chilled. water to non-domestic developments for air-conditioning. It is an energy-efficient system which consumes 35 per cent less electricity compared with traditional air-cooled air- conditioning systems. Phase I has been completed while Phase II and Phase III (Package A) are under construction. The chilled water from DCS is currently available to the first consumers in the Kai Tak Development, including the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal building and Ching Long Shopping Centre.

The government recognises the importance of promoting the use of renewable energy and Hong Kong's two power companies are making progress in their attempts to use clean energy to produce electricity. HEC has operated a wind turbine on Lamma Island since 2006. In 2013, CLP Power commissioned the stage 2 commercial scale photovoltaic system on Town Island in Sai Kung and HEC completed an extension to its thin film photovoltaic system at Lamma Power Station. Both companies plan to develop off-shore wind farms in Hong Kong waters and feasibility studies for these projects are under way.

Sustainable Development

The Council for Sustainable Development (SDC), appointed by the Chief Executive, promotes sustainable development in Hong Kong. In September, the SDC set off to engage the community and stakeholders on how best to implement quantity-based municipal solid waste charging in Hong Kong, before making appropriate recommendations to the government.

Since 2003 the SDC has invited 11 rounds of applications from organisations and individuals for grants from the Sustainable Development Fund to carry out work related to sustainable development. In the first 10 rounds, 57 projects were approved, involving grants of over $56 million, and 42 of them have been completed so far.

The Sustainable Development Division oversees the government's sustainability assessment system, adopted since 2001 to integrate sustainability considerations into the decision-making process. All bureaus and departments must conduct sustainability assessments of their major initiatives and programmes and explain the implications in their submissions to the Policy Committee and Executive Council.

Legislation and Environmental Protection

Ten ordinances address environmental protection: the Waste Disposal Ordinance, the Water Pollution Control Ordinance, the Air Pollution Control Ordinance, the Noise Control Ordinance, the Ozone Layer Protection Ordinance, the Dumping at Sea Ordinance, the Environmental Impact Assessment Ordinance, the Hazardous Chemicals Control Ordinance, the Product Eco- responsibility Ordinance; and the Motor Vehicle Idling (Fixed Penalty) Ordinance.

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