Property owner fined nearly $120,000 for not complying with removal order
An owner was convicted and fined $119,900 in total, of which $89,900 was the fine for the number of days that the offence continued, at the Kowloon City Magistrates' Courts yesterday (January 21) for failing to comply with a removal order issued under the Buildings Ordinance (BO) (Cap. 123).
The case involved two unauthorised structures with a total area of about 89 square metres on the flat roof of a composite building on Un Chau Street, Sham Shui Po. As the unauthorised building works (UBWs) were carried out without prior approval and consent from the Buildings Department (BD), a removal order was served on the owner under section 24(1) of the BO. Failing to comply with the removal order, the owner was prosecuted by the BD.
A spokesman for the BD said today (January 22), "UBWs may lead to serious consequences. Owners must comply with removal orders without delay. The BD will continue to take enforcement action against owners who fail to comply with removal orders, including instigation of prosecution, to ensure building and public safety."
Failure to comply with a removal order without reasonable excuse is a serious offence under the BO. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $200,000 and one year's imprisonment, and a further fine of up to $20,000 for each day that the offence continues.
Hong Kong greenhouse gas emission inventory for 2024 released
The Environment and Ecology Bureau (EEB) released today (January 22) the 2024 greenhouse gas (GHG) emission inventory for Hong Kong.
Hong Kong's GHG emissions continued their downward trend. The total GHG emissions in 2024 amounted to approximately 33.2 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2-e), representing a decrease of 3.6 per cent compared with 2023. The per capita GHG emissions continued its downward trend, reaching a new low of 4.41 tonnes CO2-e. It is 3.5 per cent lower than that in 2023 and is about a quarter of that of the United States and 60 per cent of that of the European Union. The carbon intensity was 0.011 kilograms of CO2-e per Hong Kong dollar of GDP, representing a significant decrease of about 6 per cent compared to 2023.
Hong Kong's GHG emissions peaked in 2014. Compared with the emissions peak in 2014, the total emissions, per capita GHG emissions and carbon intensity in 2024 have been reduced by about 27 per cent, 30 per cent and 35 per cent respectively.
According to the latest GHG emission inventory, the three main emission sources in Hong Kong remain to be electricity generation (61 per cent), transport (18 per cent) and waste management (8 per cent). With the gradual replacement of coal with natural gas and zero-carbon energy for electricity generation, popularisation of electric vehicles, reduction in municipal solid waste (MSW) and increase in landfill gas recovery for energy production, Hong Kong's GHG emissions from electricity generation, transport and waste management declined by 3.5 per cent, 3.7 per cent and 9 per cent respectively, compared to 2023. The reduction in GHG emissions from waste management was particularly significant. It was mainly attributable to the 3.4 per cent reduction in the quantity of MSW disposed of at landfills, and a nearly 12 per cent increase in landfill gas recovery for energy production.
To align with the country's "dual carbon" target to achieve the peak of carbon emissions before 2030 and carbon neutrality before 2060, the Government will continue to implement the four decarbonisation strategies, namely, net-zero electricity generation, energy saving and green buildings, green transport and waste reduction, outlined in Hong Kong's Climate Action Plan 2050, with a view to reducing Hong Kong's carbon emissions by half from the 2005 levels before 2035 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2050.
Details of the 2024 GHG emission inventory have been uploaded to the Carbon Neutrality and Sustainable Development website (cnsd.gov.hk/en/climate-ready/ghg-emissions-and-trends).
Source: AI-found images
