The Environment Bureau of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government has launched the first guidelines for conducting carbon audits on buildings, the HKSAR government announced Thursday.

Speaking at the Green Hong Kong event, Secretary for the Environment Edward Yau said building users and managers could use the carbon audits to calculate the amount of greenhouse gases emitted from their building operations.

Reducing power consumption for building operations was crucial to reducing greenhouse gas emissions as buildings accounted for 89 percent of the total annual electricity consumption in Hong Kong, he added.

The annual greenhouse gas emission in Hong Kong is about 45 million tons, with over 60 percent contributed by electricity generation.

More than 100 buildings, some run by the HKSAR government, will carry out carbon audits this year, while 37 organizations from the property sectors, universities and non-profit organizations have undertaken to conduct carbon audits on their buildings and initiate reduction programs in the next two years.

The HKSAR government prepared the guidelines to help building users and managers account for and report on their greenhouse gas emissions.

(Xinhua News Agency July 25, 2008)