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Following is a question by the Hon Cheng Hok-ming and a written reply by the Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works, Dr Sarah Liao, at the Legislative Council meeting today (November 10):
Question:
It has been reported that a green group recently criticised that the air quality index currently adopted by the Environmental Protection Department is outdated, failing to reflect the actual air pollution situation in Hong Kong, and that while Hong Kong is a first-rate city, it has ninth-rate air quality. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) whether it has assessed the effectiveness of the improvement measures taken to address the air pollution problem in Hong Kong in the past three years; if an assessment has been made with the results indicating that the effectiveness of such measures is not satisfactory, whether it has proposed new improvement measures so that Hong Kong, as a first-rate city, will have first-rate air quality; and
(b) of the public medical expenditure in the past three years on diseases caused by the serious air pollution problem in Hong Kong, particularly respiratory diseases?
Reply:
Madam President,
(a) The air pollution problem faced by Hong Kong arises from roadside pollution caused by local vehicles and regional pollution caused by industrial and commercial operations. We have formulated a comprehensive strategy to improve air quality.
To reduce emissions from local vehicles, the Government announced in the 1999 Policy Address a package of initiatives, which have proved to be effective. Compared with 1999, the number of smoky vehicles had dropped by over 70 per cent in 2003. Respirable suspended particulates (RSP) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) at roadside had dropped by 13 per cent and 23 per cent respectively during the same period. Although the roadside air quality in Hong Kong had improved, the concentrations of RSP recorded by general air quality monitoring stations had increased by 4 per cent, whereas those of ozone had increased by as much as 18 per cent during the same period. It is evident from these figures that the air quality of Hong Kong is increasingly affected by regional air pollution as the Mainland economy continues to grow.
To address the regional air pollution problem, the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) of Hong Kong and the Environmental Protection Bureau of Guangdong Province conducted a joint study on regional air quality during 1999-2002. The aim of the study is to analyse the relative significance of different industrial and commercial sources of pollution and their direct and indirect impacts on regional air quality so that air pollution control measures can be prioritised accordingly. After the study was completed, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government and the Guangdong Provincial Government reached a consensus in April 2002 to reduce by 2010, on a best endeavour basis, the regional emissions of sulphur dioxide (SO2), NOx, RSP and Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) by 40 per cent, 20 per cent, 55 per cent and 55 per cent respectively, using 1997 as the base year.
With a view to meeting these emission reduction targets, the two governments set up the Pearl River Delta Air Quality Management and Monitoring Special Panel under the Hong Kong/Guangdong Joint Working Group on Sustainable Development and Environmental Protection to follow up on the tasks involved. The two governments also jointly drew up the Pearl River Delta Regional Air Quality Management Plan (the Management Plan) in December 2003. Initiatives under the Management Plan include implementing a package of enhanced air pollution control measures; compiling an inventory of air pollutant emissions in the region; and setting up a regional air quality monitoring network.
The enhanced measures that we plan to implement in Hong Kong include the followings:
(i) To tighten the motor petrol standard to Euro IV with effect from 1 January next year;
(ii) To introduce new regulations in the first quarter next year which require the installation of vapour recovery systems at petrol filling stations;
(iii) To apply the Euro IV emission standards to newly registered vehicles by 2006;
(iv) To require importers or manufacturers of specified products to register the VOC contents of their products with the EPD and provide labelling on the container or packaging of the products in an effort to reduce VOC emissions; and
(v) To negotiate with power companies on measures to further reduce power plant emissions and increase the share of natural gas in electricity generation. We will also explore the feasibility of introducing demand-side management and providing economic incentives to save energy.
The emission reduction policy of Guangdong Province mainly focuses on power plants, vehicles and the most polluting industrial processes. Measures taken include the followings:
(i) To diversify clean energy production and supply systems, construct gas-fired power plants and provide for the transmission of electricity from western provinces;
(ii) To restrict the use of high sulphur fuels, close down small power generation units and retrofit such units with flue gas desulphurisation systems in order to reduce emissions from the power generation process;
(iii) To phase out coal-fired boilers, industrial boilers and industrial technologies and equipment with inefficient energy consumption and causing serious pollution;
(iv) To reduce VOC emissions from paints; and
(v) To build metro expressway systems, develop green transport and reduce vehicle emissions in order to control pollution caused by the exhaust of motor vehicles.
Upon the achievement of the emission reduction targets by both sides, the air quality in Hong Kong, especially the smog problem, will be significantly improved.
(b) In 2002, the Environmental Protection Department engaged the University of Hong Kong and the Chinese University of Hong Kong to carry out a study on the correlation between air pollution in Hong Kong and its impact on health. Using the air quality data for 2000, the study estimates that the direct medical expenditure (including consultation and hospitalisation fees) on respiratory and cardiovascular diseases possibly related to air pollution may total $1.3 billion each year. Based on this figure, it is estimated that at least $3.9 billion in medical expenditure have been spent on diseases possibly related to air pollution in the past three years. A breakdown of this amount into public and private medical expenditures is not available.
Ends/Wednesday, November 10, 2004
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