*********************************************************************
The following is a statement issued today (April 29) by the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the Guangdong Provincial Government on the consensus they have reached to jointly improve the air quality in the Pearl River Delta Region -
At the second meeting of the Hong Kong/Guangdong Cooperation Joint Conference held in September 1998, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government and the Guangdong Provincial Government reached a consensus to enhance cross-boundary cooperation on environmental protection issues. The two Governments also agreed to conduct a joint study on air quality in the Pearl River Delta (PRD) Region with a view to arresting further deterioration of regional air quality. The joint study has now been completed.
The study indicates that the air pollution problem in the PRD Region is similar to that faced by other cities in the country and overseas, and is caused mainly by ozone, respirable suspended particulates and nitrogen oxides. The various measures implemented by the two Governments have brought improvements to many local air pollution problems. However, there is a need to enhance the effectiveness of these measures to deal with the wider regional air pollution problems such as ozone and smog.
The study anticipates that the regional economy, population, electricity consumption and vehicle mileage in the Region will grow by 150%, 20%, 130% and 190% respectively by 2010. With these growth trends, the overall air pollutant emissions in the Region will continue to increase if the two Governments only implement their existing and committed air quality improvement measures.
By then, the overall air quality in the PRD Region would further deteriorate. Although the two Governments have already introduced a series of plans and measures to tackle local air pollution, they have to enhance cooperation and put in place additional improvement measures in the PRD Region to deal with the problem of regional air pollution.
The HKSAR Government and the Guangdong Provincial Government have agreed to aim to reduce, on a best endeavour basis, the regional emissions of sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, respirable suspended particulates and volatile organic compounds by 40%, 20%, 55% and 55% respectively by 2010, using 1997 as the base year. To achieve these targets, the two Governments will study and consider in detail the various improvement measures recommended in the study, determine work priorities and draw up action plans having regard to the feasibility of the proposed improvement measures. The two Governments aim to strive to reduce the emissions from their own sources by the same levels in 2010. Achieving the emission reduction targets will enable Hong Kong to meet its current air quality objectives. At the same time, cities in the Region will meet the relevant national air quality objectives except for certain time periods and locations. The problem of smog will also be significantly improved.
The two Governments will jointly draw up a Regional Air Quality Management Plan, assign the responsibility for coordinating and monitoring progress of the improvement measures to the departments concerned which will in turn report to the Hong Kong/Guangdong Cooperation Joint Conference. They will set up an expert group comprising representatives of the Environmental Protection Department of the HKSAR and the Guangdong Environmental Protection Bureau to monitor jointly trends and changes in regional air quality and evaluate the effectiveness of the improvement measures. The expert group will also be responsible for training relevant personnel of the two Governments, exchanging technical know-how and keeping in view the feasibility of introducing new technologies and measures.
The HKSAR Government and the Guangdong Provincial Government will make their best effort to strive to achieve the above emission reduction targets in 2010 for the purposes of improving air quality in the Region, protecting public health and ensuring the sustainable development of the Region.
End/Monday, April 29, 2002
NNNN
