**************************************************

Following is a question by the Hon Choy So-yuk and an oral reply by the Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works, Dr Sarah Liao, in the Legislative Council meeting today (October 29) :-

Question :

The Central People's Government has decided to apply the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to Hong Kong with effect from May 5 this year and the Kyoto Protocol under UNFCCC will be applicable to Hong Kong when it comes into operation. Both instruments seek to reduce global emissions of greenhouse gas. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it has formulated measures to implement UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol; if so, of the relevant details; if not, the reasons for that?

Reply

Madam President,

China is a signatory of both UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol. Having consulted the HKSAR Government, the Central People's Government notified the United Nations that UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol were extended to HKSAR from May 2003 onward. Although the Kyoto Protocol has not come into operation and HKSAR is not obligated to reduce the greenhouse gas (GHG) emission to a specified target, Hong Kong, like the Mainland and other non-Annex I parties, will discharge its obligations under the UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol by making its best effort to control GHG emission.

Hong Kong is indeed only a small emitter of GHG on a global scale (approximately 0.2%). The emission per capita is only 5.9 tonnes in 2000, which is comparable to the global average (4 to 5 tonnes) and much lower than the levels of such developed economies as the USA (24.9 tonnes), Australia (26.2 tonnes), Canada (23.6tonnes), and Member States of the European Union (7.8 to 17.7 tonnes). Even if these economies meet their respective Kyoto targets by 2010, their per capita emission will still be much higher than that of Hong Kong.

Nevertheless, we have been sparing no efforts to reduce GHG emission, and contributing our efforts to mitigate global climate change. Even before the UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol were applicable to HKSAR, through implementing a number of effective measures, the GHG emission in Hong Kong has dropped by 18% from its peak back to the 1990 level by 2000, achieving the same requirements imposed on developed economies under the UNFCCC. With the application of the UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol to Hong Kong now, we will continue to control GHG emission and submit reports regularly to the Conference of Parties.

For specific measures, since carbon dioxide (CO2) emitted from power plants accounts for approximately 60% of the total GHG emission in Hong Kong, and natural gas-fired power units emit 50% less CO2 than coal-fired power units, we have only been allowing the construction of natural gas-fired power units since 1996. As the usage rate of the gas-fired unitsincreases, this measure will significantly help control GHG emission. At present, coal-fired units generate 50% of our electricity. The rest is generated from gas-fired units and the nuclear plant. We will continue to request the power companies to keep improving the efficiency of their coal-fired units, so as to reduce the CO2-to-calorie ratio of the units. As air-conditioning accounts for approximately 30% of the overall power consumption in Hong Kong and water-cooled air-conditioning systems can save approximately 20% to 30% of energy, we have also been stepping up the promotion of water-cooled air conditioning and other energy-saving installations and measures, in order to reduce GHG emission caused by electricity demand.

Land transport contributes to about 15% of GHG emission. We have therefore been encouraging taxis and light buses to switch to liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), so as to reduce the generation of air pollutants as well as the emission of GHG. At present, there are 17 800 LPG taxis (98% of the fleet) and 650 LPG light buses (about 10% of the fleet) in Hong Kong, and the numbers are increasing.

Landfill gas contributes to about 10% of the total GHG emission in Hong Kong. We are conducting a study on the various technology options for developing large-scale waste treatment facilities, which will reduce the amount of waste to be disposed of at landfills and slow down the accumulation and emission of landfill gas in the long run. We will also step up the collection of landfill gas for use as fuel, so as to minimize the greenhouse effect it produces and reduce the use of fuels of higher global warming potential and hence further reduce GHG emission.

Apart from controlling GHG emission, we have been actively implementing afforestation programmes to increase the capacity of CO2 absorption. Since 1991, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department has planted more than 5 million trees in the country parks which absorb 120 Gg of CO2 each year.

In addition to the above on-going efforts, we are also conducting studies with other bureaux and departments on some new measures. For example:

* the role of renewable energy in the electricity market after 2008

* waste-to-energy technology, the tapping of energy from waste by non-polluting methods

* mixed fuels for motor vehicles, the addition of a certain proportion of bio-fuels intodiesel.

* legislative control on CO2 emissions of motor vehicles

* improving the burning efficiency of coal-fired units

If all these on-going measures and measures under study are successfully implemented, we estimate that our GHG emission will be further reduced by 13 000 Gg per year.

However, I would like to point out that, with the growth of population (5.7 million in 1990, and estimated to reach 7.45 million in 2010) and the increase in economic activities, it will be very difficult for us to reduce our total GHG emission further from the present low level. We will however continue to assess the scope of emission reduction of various sectors and make our best efforts to control GHG emissions through cost-effective measures.

End/Wednesday, October 29, 2003

NNNN