Opinion | Dealing with Hong Kong’s other serious ‘hot’ problem

Amid the media’s blanket coverage of the protests this summer, a story that came and went quickly was that of our exceptionally warm July, which registered 0.7 degrees above the long-term norm. It followed a very hot June, which was 1.1 degrees above the norm and which, in turn, completed the warmest temperatures on record for the first six months of a year in Hong Kong.

Such record temperatures have now become back-page news. In normal times, the extreme heat we are experiencing would be generating more discussion, if not concern, but somehow the general population has grown accustomed to the warming, plus of course, Hong Kong has other things to worry about. Anyway, escaping the heat is easy with the omnipresent air conditioning. And therein lies a problem.

In Hong Kong, air conditioning accounts for about 30 per cent of all electricity consumption, by far the largest end-use. Obviously, most of this usage is in the summer months, and given that close to two-thirds of local electricity is generated by burning fossil fuels, simple arithmetic reveals that the use of air conditioning is a major contributor towards Hong Kong’s total carbon footprint and local air pollution.

One of the reasons almost everyone these days uses air conditioning is the affordability of electricity in Hong Kong. Compared to other countries, the price here is low. Germany is almost three times higher than Hong Kong and in New York and London electricity costs about double. Clearly, low-cost electricity feeds into people’s behaviour. Using an air conditioner through the night covered up with blankets is common around town; however, a ceiling fan which uses far less electricity – by some estimates over 90 per cent less – can be equally comfortable.

At the same time, many buildings around town have stairwells and corridors that lead directly outside without doors. Such designs thumb their nose at energy conservation.