energy consumption – Sanggraloka Wisata Nusantara

Hong Kong’s Gas Usage Still Below Pre-Pandemic Levels for Six Consecutive Years

by admin | Apr 7, 2025 | economics, economy of china, energy consumption, energy sector, hong kong

The supplier anticipates that this trend will continue, whereas economists link reduced consumption to evolving lifestyles, such as greater travel to the mainland.

In 2024, gas consumption in Hong Kong remained under the pre-pandemic levels for an uninterrupted six years. The provider anticipates this trend will continue, as economists attribute this phenomenon to a “structural reduction” in use attributed to shifts in living habits, such as more frequent trips to mainland China.

The city’s only gas provider, the Hong Kong and China Gas Company, commonly referred to as Towngas, connected their prediction with the anticipated mild temperatures for this year.

Professor Lee Shu-kam, who leads the Department of Economics and Finance at Shue Yan University, highlighted a “structural decrease in gasoline sales” within the city.

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An essential aspect is the weak economy. With a decrease in tourism, stores will utilize less fuel,” Lee explained. “However, what matters most is that following the pandemic, numerous individuals have started spending more within their own country.

For example, individuals who are 60 years old or older can use railway services for free in Shenzhen by showing their Home Return Permits, passports, or other identification documents provided by the local government, as stated on a site from the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau.

The free transportation rates were “highly appealing,” according to Lee. “However, once you’re there, having meals is essential.”

In 2024, gas sales in Hong Kong amounted to 27,159 terajoules, which represents an 8.1 percent decrease compared to the figures from 2018. This outcome comes after a 0.1 percent yearly growth managed to reverse a continuous decline over the past five years, as reported by Towngas.

The firm projected that natural gas sales were expected to increase marginally to 27,200 terajoules in 2025, which represents an 8 percent decrease from the 29,550 terajoules sold in 2018 prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A representative from the gas firm stated to the Post that they anticipate the gas usage in 2025 to stay steady at approximately 27,200 terajoules, assuming there’s no major shift in how residents of Hong Kong live and considering the mild climate projected for 2025,

The gas firm highlighted several elements impacting gas sales in Hong Kong throughout recent years, encompassing periods of pandemic, post-pandemic challenges, along with subsequent recovery phases.

“Overall, we are witnessing severe effects of climate change, with temperature records in Hong Kong showing increases compared to earlier years from 2021 through 2023,” stated the spokesperson.

Consequently, the usage of gas dropped because lesser amounts of hot water were consumed.

Home gas consumption has decreased continuously over the past four years, dropping to 14,437 terajoules in 2024. This figure represents 53 percent of overall usage, as reported by the gas firm and highlighted in their investment briefing for fiscal year-end 2024 results.

The spokesperson stated that residential gas usage was impacted by “unprecedented worldwide temperature records” in the previous year and the tendency of residents of Hong Kong traveling to Mainland China, resulting in a “minor reduction of 1.4 percent.”

The spokesperson pointed out that gas usage in homes rose by 11 percent compared to the previous year, totaling 16,685 terajoules in 2020 because of pandemic-related limitations.

However, by 2023, once these restrictions had been eased and individuals could resume their international trips, natural gas consumption within households dropped by 8.4 percent compared to the previous year, totaling 14,648 terajoules.

Professor Lee from Shue Yan University further noted that the increase in food delivery services and the prevalence of smaller households, often consisting of only two individuals, who may opt for dining out rather than cooking at home, has led to persistently reduced consumption of gas.

Lee further pointed out that the migration of numerous households with children, significant consumers of natural gas for culinary purposes and personal hygiene, has also contributed to this decrease.

In the meantime, Vera Yuen Wing-han, an economics lecturer at the University of Hong Kong, noted that there has been “a move toward electrical devices.”

“As modern housing designs evolve with features like open kitchens and studio apartments, there has been an increase in the use of electric heaters and stoves,” Yuen explained.

Such designs usually comply with fire safety rules that restrict or prohibit the usage of open flames.

In 2024, industrial consumption represented 7 percent of the overall usage, marking a significant increase of 107 terajoules attributed to heightened activity in aviation catering and laundry facilities, as reported by the gas company.

Significantly, the commercial utilization of gas varied alongside the nominal GDP, increasing in 2021, 2023, and 2024, whereas it declined in 2020 and 2022.

In 2024, commercial gas usage represented 40 percent of the overall consumption and kept increasing.

This improvement was due to a rebound in tourism-associated industries, marked by hikes of 66 terajoules and 20 terajoules in natural gas consumption for hotels and amusement parks, along with hospitals and social service organizations experiencing an upsurge of 137 terajoules.

The spokesperson stated that the increase in usage observed in 2021 was associated with the city’s voucher program implemented during the pandemic, aimed at boosting local expenditures.

However, in 2020, commercial use declined by 17.7 percent to reach 11,262 terajoules.

“The catering sector was considerably impacted during the pandemic era and throughout the recovery phase,” stated the spokesperson from the gas company.

AC Use Soars as Global Heating Worsens, Driving Up Emissions Worldwide

by admin | Mar 24, 2025 | carbon emissions, climate change, energy consumption, energy sector, global warming

The rate of increase in global energy demand shot up last year, driving increased greenhouse gas emissions even with renewable energy and nuclear power supplying bulk of new electricity generation capacity.

On Monday, the International Energy Agency announced a 2.2% rise in worldwide energy consumption for the previous year, nearly doubling the annual average growth rate of 1.3% observed during the ten years leading up to 2023. However, electricity usage experienced an impressive spike of 4.3%, fueled primarily by heightened demands from data centers, electric vehicles, and particularly, air conditioning units.

The surge in extreme weather events, particularly heatwaves in China, India, and the U.S., accounted for one-fifth of the heightened demand for natural gas and electricity observed last year. Additionally, these conditions entirely drove a 123-million tonne (1.4%) rise in coal consumption, mostly at power plants, according to the report from an international organization based in Paris.

“The global heat waves, conversely, increased the demand for electricity, leading to a rise in coal consumption growth—particularly in certain nations such as China and India,” stated IEA President Fatih Birol during the unveiling of the 2025 edition of the Global Energy Review.

The evident trend led the IEA to discontinue at the end of last year their prediction that coal consumption was poised to reach its apex shortly, with worldwide demand expected to hit 8.7 billion tonnes in 2024.

This indicates that even though renewable sources such as solar and wind fulfilled 38% of the extra worldwide energy needs, with nuclear power adding another 8% and reaching an all-time high in electricity production, more than half of the rise in energy consumption was satisfied by coal, oil, and natural gas. This resulted in a 0.8% growth in energy-linked CO2 emissions.

Although this represents roughly two-thirds of the growth rate observed in the prior year, the overall tendency continues to be upward. This raises doubts yet again regarding the international community’s commitment to tackling climate change and achieving the net-zero emissions target, which scientists agree is essential at minimum to curb increasing temperatures.

If we look for the positive aspect, we can observe that there has been an ongoing separation between economic expansion and emission increases,” stated Laura Cozzi, who oversees the IEA’s efforts on energy sustainability and authored the report. Last year, the world economy expanded by 3.2%, significantly outpacing total energy consumption, thus reverting to a long-term trend following some disruptions caused by the pandemic.

Moreover, the global trajectory seems aligned with the commitment established during the COP28 climate conference in Dubai back in 2023 to triple the pace of renewable energy expansion by the end of this decade, as stated by Cozzi. “Regarding renewables, we’re nearly there—we stand at roughly a 2.7-fold growth by 2030,” he added.

However, according to the recent IEA report, this does not hold true for the commitment to double the yearly pace of energy efficiency enhancements—a measure indicative of reduced demand—which was also established during the worldwide climate conference that the UN celebrated as the “dawn” of the age without fossil fuels.

“If you examine the trends from last year, rather than a doubling, we’ve actually observed a halving,” Cozzi stated.