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Letter to the Editor of The CNN.com dated 29 June 2005 - Response to a press report on "Hong Kong's cold war heats Up"
I refer to the article published in your webpage today titled "Hong Kong's cold war heats Up" and the photo caption "Hong Kong's new leader, Donald Tsang, is not setting a good example with his bowtie and jacket."
We would like to clarify and set the record straight that the Chief Executive, Mr Donald Tsang, is a strong advocate of environmental protection. Back in 2003, in his former capacity as the Chief Secretary, he asked all government departments to reduce energy consumption by 6% in four years. Recognizing that air conditioning systems consume one third of the total electricity consumption of the territory each year and the widespread practice of building management in Hong Kong setting the indoor temperature too cold, he decided that Government should set a good example to rectify this "cold" tradition, and gave his strong endorsement of the Environment, Transport and Works Bureau's initiative in October 2004 which required all government departments to maintain room temperature at 25.5 C in the summer months. Engineers have since then adjusted the air conditioning systems at hundreds of government premises in preparation for the current hot season.
In June this year the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government launched a "No Freezing Summer" campaign as part of the World Environment Day celebration to urge the private sector to follow the 25.5C recommendation. It is largely this initiative which has led to the issue developing literally into a "hot topic" in the media in Hong Kong recently, a situation which we welcome as it helps raise the awareness in the community.
The 25.5C initiative is meant to strike a balance between energy saving and thermal comfort. The temperature setting has been carefully chosen having regard to the range within which most people would be reasonably comfortable while achieving substantial saving in energy. The Environmental Protection Department and the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department will be collecting the energy consumption figures of all government premises and evaluating the overall effectiveness of the initiative after the summer. Meanwhile, interim figures for major premises will be analyzed and the experience will be shared with the private sector. We will continue with our current publicity campaign to enhance public awareness and public support for maintaining a higher indoor temperature, and to dispel the misconception that lower room temperatures necessarily mean better indoor air quality.
K K Kwok
Permanent Secretary for the Environment,
Transport and Works (Environment)
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