A preliminary inquiry into why buildings remain energy inefficient and the potential remedy

Much has been said about the importance of improving the efficiency of using energy in commercial buildings in Hong Kong to conservation of energy resources and protection of the environment. However, many existing commercial buildings in Hong Kong remain Inefficient and no actions have been taken to rectify the situation. This is not due to a lack of the required technology. Rather, the obstacles to taking actions to improve the energy efficiency of buildings are the knowledge, financial and motivation barriers. The barriers would need to be removed through establishing appropriate policies to create market forces and provide incentives to induce voluntary actions and, where required, to compel actions through legislative requirements. A holistic evaluation of the socio-economic implications of various feasible measures is awaited for the determination of the optimal suite of measures to be adopted. Relevant topics of research needed to inform the policy decisions are suggested.