Deputy prime minister says it is ‘inexplicable’ top civil servant kept Downing Street in darkKeir Starmer would have blocked Peter Mandelson from serving as the UK’s ambassador to Washington had he known he failed security vetting, David Lammy has said, as he attempted to shore up the prime minister amid damaging fallout from the row.In his first public comments on the vetting affair, Lammy said it was “inexplicable” that Oliver Robbins, the former top civil servant who was forced out of the For
Deputy prime minister says it is ‘inexplicable’ top civil servant kept Downing Street in dark
Keir Starmer would have blocked Peter Mandelson from serving as the UK’s ambassador to Washington had he known he failed security vetting, David Lammy has said, as he attempted to shore up the prime minister amid damaging fallout from the row.
In his first public comments on the vetting affair, Lammy said it was “inexplicable” that Oliver Robbins, the former top civil servant who was forced out of the Foreign Office this week, had opted to leave Downing Street in the dark over the outcome.
The R-rated pic about a girl who returns to her family after being kidnapped years earlier in Egypt opened in third place domestically with $13.5 million. New offerings at the specialty box office include Anne Hathaway's 'Mother Mary.'
The R-rated pic about a girl who returns to her family after being kidnapped years earlier in Egypt opened in third place domestically with $13.5 million. New offerings at the specialty box office include Anne Hathaway's 'Mother Mary.'
Friday brought a slew of newcomers to the domestic box office, including Magnolia Pictures’ “Normal” and “Lee Cronin’s The Mummy” from Warner Bros. and Atomic Monster. However, neither of them could usurp Universal’s “Super Mario Galaxy Movie,” which is looking to lead the box office for the third weekend in a row. “Lee Cronin’s The […]
Friday brought a slew of newcomers to the domestic box office, including Magnolia Pictures’ “Normal” and “Lee Cronin’s The Mummy” from Warner Bros. and Atomic Monster. However, neither of them could usurp Universal’s “Super Mario Galaxy Movie,” which is looking to lead the box office for the third weekend in a row. “Lee Cronin’s The […]
Simon McDonald says Olly Robbins was ‘thrown under a bus’ by the prime minister and the decision feels wrongThe Peter Mandelson security vetting scandal is the biggest crisis for the diplomatic service in decades, a former Foreign Office chief has said.Simon McDonald, who was the permanent under-secretary of the government department until 2020, has spoken out in defence of Oliver Robbins, saying the civil servant was “thrown under a bus” by the prime minister, Keir Starmer, when he was dismisse
Simon McDonald says Olly Robbins was ‘thrown under a bus’ by the prime minister and the decision feels wrong
The Peter Mandelson security vetting scandal is the biggest crisis for the diplomatic service in decades, a former Foreign Office chief has said.
Simon McDonald, who was the permanent under-secretary of the government department until 2020, has spoken out in defence of Oliver Robbins, saying the civil servant was “thrown under a bus” by the prime minister, Keir Starmer, when he was dismissed from his role on Thursday.
By Steven Chan
Hong Kong attempts to position itself as Asia’s innovation hub, and the numbers look impressive.
Server racks in data centres. Photo: Brett Sayles, via Pexels.
According to market data, the city hosts 47 data centres with a total IT load of 581 megawatts. Another 671 megawatts worth of facilities are already in planning or under construction.
Yet behind the gleaming servers and promised economic gains lies a sobering reality: our data centres are becoming one of the t
Hong Kong attempts to position itself as Asia’s innovation hub, and the numbers look impressive.
Server racks in data centres. Photo: Brett Sayles, via Pexels.
According to market data, the city hosts 47 data centres with a total IT load of 581 megawatts. Another 671 megawatts worth of facilities are already in planning or under construction.
Yet behind the gleaming servers and promised economic gains lies a sobering reality: our data centres are becoming one of the territory’s largest electricity consumers and carbon emitters, and current energy conservation policy is dangerously out of date.
Hong Kong’s data centres consumed 7,131 terajoules of electricity in 2023 – up by more than 75 per cent in just five years.
If we take the Environment and Ecology Bureau’s data as a reference, greenhouse gas emissions from data centres through electricity use rose by 35.6 per cent, from 680,164 tonnes of CO2-equivalent in 2018 to 922,392 tonnes in 2023. That is equivalent to the annual emissions of roughly 200,000 Hong Kong residents.
The forthcoming Sandy Ridge data centre – a 220-megawatt facility on an 11.6-hectare site in the Northern Metropolis – makes the scale impossible to ignore.
Even assuming a conservative 70 per cent utilisation rate and a Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) of 1.3, annual electricity demand will reach 1.75 billion kilowatt-hours. Not only is this more than the MTR’s 1.67 billion kilowatt-hours in 2024 and roughly 3.8 per cent of Hong Kong’s entire electricity consumption, but it will also eclipse Hong Kong’s current largest single electricity user.
Its electricity demand is so large that four I-Park waste-to-energy incinerators could barely power it. Its carbon footprint alone, using CLP’s 2024 grid factor of 0.38 kg CO2-equivalent per kilowatt-hour, will be 666,520 tonnes – 2 per cent of the city’s total emissions in 2023.
Yet the policy framework governing this surge remains stuck in the past. The Energy Saving Plan 2015-2025+ has expired and never addressed data centres at all. The Green Data Centres Practice Guide, commissioned by the Digital Policy Office, is still in its 2020 version. It only discusses traditional air- and water-cooling, ignoring liquid-cooling technologies now standard elsewhere.
The Sandy Ridge Data Facility Cluster site in the Northern Metropolis. Photo: Screenshot, via YouTube.
Last year, the government amended the Buildings Energy Efficiency Ordinance (Cap. 610) to mandate energy audits and public disclosure for data centres every five years – a welcome step.
But when we asked the Digital Policy Office for the government’s own data centre performance data, the reply was a curt refusal, citing “security reasons.” If the government itself will not lead by example, why should the private sector?
Contrast this vacuum with international practice. In mainland China, all new data centres must achieve a PUE no higher than 1.25. Beijing ties renewable-energy quotas directly to PUE performance and publishes a national “Green Data Centre” honour roll.
Germany’s Energy Efficiency Act sets a PUE cap of 1.2 for new facilities from July 2026 and 1.3 for all facilities by 2030, plus mandatory waste-heat reuse. Ireland demands 80 per cent renewable energy for new centres. Singapore’s carbon tax is recycled into green-transition subsidies.
The European Union requires mandatory reporting of electricity, water and carbon data. Hong Kong, by comparison, is coasting.
This matters because Hong Kong’s energy decarbonisation strategy relies almost entirely on cleaning the grid – replacing coal with natural gas and importing nuclear and renewables.
Ireland offers a cautionary tale: even though its grid emissions intensity fell more than half over a decade, data centre electricity demand rose nearly fivefold, driving a near-doubling of sector emissions.
Hong Kong risks the same trap. The Sandy Ridge, the Lok Ma Chau Loop and the San Tin projects will push demand sharply higher. Without demand-side controls, every tonne of grid decarbonisation will be cancelled out.
The Digital Policy Office. Photo: Screenshot, via YouTube.
The solutions are straightforward and proven. First, the government should immediately update the expired Energy Saving Plan and the Green Data Centres Guide with legally binding PUE targets and incentives for liquid cooling and waste-heat recovery.
Second, the Digital Policy Office must publish its own data centre energy performance – or at least explain how “security” is being balanced against energy conservation and transparency.
Third, Hong Kong should develop local green-finance standards referencing China’s national benchmarks and international best practice, unlocking concessional loans and green bonds for retrofits.
Fourth, power-demand management must sit alongside grid decarbonisation in every future energy plan.
Hong Kong wants to be the region’s technology leader. True leadership means showing the world that cutting-edge computing and genuine climate responsibility can coexist.
The data centre explosion is not a distant problem; it is already reshaping our carbon ledger and may jeopardise our commitment to carbon neutrality.
The policy gaps are clear and require an immediate response, as Sandy Ridge will come into operation in 42 months. It is time for the government to move from aspiration to action — before one industry’s growth becomes everyone’s environmental burden.
Steven Chan is the assistant environmental affairs manager at The Green Earth, a Hong Kong-based environmental charity.
HKFP is an impartial platform & does not necessarily share the views of opinion writers or advertisers. HKFP presents a diversity of views & regularly invites figures across the political spectrum to write for us. Press freedom is guaranteed under the Basic Law, security law, Bill of Rights and Chinese constitution. Opinion pieces aim to constructively point out errors or defects in the government, law or policies, or aim to suggest ideas or alterations via legal means without an intention of hatred, discontent or hostility against the authorities or other communities.
Exclusive: Adrian Fulford, who chaired the recent Southport inquiry, will also examine the wider national security vetting systemUK politics live – latest updatesA retired high court judge is expected to review Peter Mandelson’s vetting process and the wider national security vetting system.The review, commissioned by Downing Street, comes after a Guardian investigation revealing that security officials decided Mandelson should not receive developed vetting clearance, but were overruled by the F
Exclusive: Liberal Democrat leader calls for privileges committee to investigate whether PM misled parliamentUK politics live – latest updatesA powerful Commons committee should investigate whether Keir Starmer misled parliament over the appointment of Peter Mandelson as ambassador to Washington, Ed Davey has said.The Liberal Democrat leader called for the prime minister to be investigated by the privileges committee to determine whether he committed contempt of parliament, an offence that can l
A powerful Commons committee should investigate whether Keir Starmer misled parliament over the appointment of Peter Mandelson as ambassador to Washington, Ed Davey has said.
The Liberal Democrat leader called for the prime minister to be investigated by the privileges committee to determine whether he committed contempt of parliament, an offence that can lead to a ministerial resignation.
Liza Tobay was told settled status had been ‘red flagged’ when she tried to fly home from Germany to ScotlandA German woman has been separated from her two-year-old daughter in Edinburgh after a Home Office mistake left her stranded in Dusseldorf earlier this week.Liza Tobay, who has lived in the UK for 15 years, had taken her oldest child, a six-year-old boy, to visit his grandfather and some other relatives over Easter when confronted with what she said appeared to be “a serious administrative
Liza Tobay was told settled status had been ‘red flagged’ when she tried to fly home from Germany to Scotland
A German woman has been separated from her two-year-old daughter in Edinburgh after a Home Office mistake left her stranded in Dusseldorf earlier this week.
Liza Tobay, who has lived in the UK for 15 years, had taken her oldest child, a six-year-old boy, to visit his grandfather and some other relatives over Easter when confronted with what she said appeared to be “a serious administrative error”.
Exclusive: Opinions split on ‘unprecedented’ release of files, despite demand for ‘all papers’ related to ex-US ambassador’s appointmentRevealed: Mandelson failed vetting but Foreign Office overruled decisionFive key questions: who overruled decision to deny Mandelson security clearance?Senior government officials have been considering whether to withhold from parliament sensitive documents that show Peter Mandelson failed security vetting before he assumed the role of US ambassador, the Guardia
Senior government officials have been considering whether to withhold from parliament sensitive documents that show Peter Mandelson failed security vetting before he assumed the role of US ambassador, the Guardian can reveal.
Any such decision could amount to an extraordinary breach of a parliamentary vote that ordered the release of “all papers” relevant to Mandelson’s appointment.
The office reveal, or is it the sunroom? Whatever you call it, it’s done!! I’m sharing all the details today! Hello friends! I’m sharing our new room reveal today. And clearly, it’s still having an identity crisis. lol We call it the office because our desks are in there, so I guess that is what...
The post Office Reveal (Sunroom) appeared first on Artsy Chicks Rule®.
The office reveal, or is it the sunroom? Whatever you call it, it’s done!! I’m sharing all the details today! Hello friends! I’m sharing our new room reveal today. And clearly, it’s still having an identity crisis. lol We call it the office because our desks are in there, so I guess that is what...
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