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Following is a question by the Hon James Tien and a written reply by the Secretary for the Environment, Mr Edward Yau, in the Legislative Council today (December 5):
Question:
In reply to my question on May 2, 2007, the former Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works said that vessel emissions might have less impact on air quality and public health than those from motor vehicles and other land pollution sources. Yet, it has been reported recently that a study on vessel emissions conducted by experts from the United States and Germany has discovered that people living in coastal cities have a higher risk of death from lung cancer and other cardiopulmonary diseases than those living inland. The study has also found that currently around 3% to 8% of mortalities across the globe are related to emissions from vessels, and that the relevant mortality rate is estimated to increase by 40% by 2012 should the pollution continue. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) whether it will re-examine the situation concerning vessel emissions in Hong Kong and the relevant regulatory standards;
(b) whether it plans to conduct a detailed study on the impact of pollutant emissions from vessels on public health, having regard to such factors as the high population density in Hong Kong; and
(c) apart from encouraging ferry operators to switch to environmentally-friendly fuels, what other more positive new measures the Government will take to improve the situation more expeditiously?
Reply:
Madam President,
(a) The latest amendments to Annex VI to "The International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, 1973, as modified by the Protocol of 1978 relating thereto, and as further amended by the Protocol of 1997" (MARPOL) of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), has come into operation since November 22, 2006. This annex regulates the emissions of harmful substances such as ozone depleting substances, nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds and sulphur oxides etc. from vessels, as well as the quality of fuel oil used on board and shipboard incineration. As an Associate Member of IMO, Hong Kong, China has to fulfill its obligations under this international convention. In July this year, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government has introduced the Merchant Shipping (Prevention of Air Pollution) Regulation (the Regulation) into the Legislative Council (LegCo). The purpose of the Regulation is to implement Annex VI to MARPOL in Hong Kong so as to bring our vessel emission standards on a par with those of IMO. LegCo has already completed its scrutiny of the Regulation. The HKSAR Government has also introduced the relevant Merchant Shipping (Prevention and Control of Pollution) (Fees) (Amendment) Regulation into LegCo for scrutiny, and will ask the Central People's Government to notify IMO of the application of Annex VI to MARPOL to HKSAR after completion of the legislative process. The Regulation is expected to come into force in mid-2008.
Meanwhile, IMO is actively considering to further tighten the standards for the sulphur content of fuel oil and nitrogen oxides emissions from diesel engines under Annex VI to MARPOL, as well as to regulate the emissions of particulates. The HKSAR Government will closely monitor the progress made by IMO in this regard and consider the corresponding actions to be taken.
(b) The Environmental Protection Department (EPD) and the local universities have jointly studied the impact of air pollution on public health for years. The detailed study reports are available for download from EPD's website. Current study methodologies are unable to accurately distinguish the relative proportion of the overall impact of air pollution on public health that could be attributed to vessel emissions. Nonetheless, EPD has conducted a detailed analysis of emissions from vessels as a proportion of all pollution sources in Hong Kong. According to the data, vessels are the second major source of sulphur dioxide emissions after power generation. They generated 4.6%, 7% and 18% of the total amount of emissions of sulphur dioxide, particulates and nitrogen oxides respectively in Hong Kong.
(c) As an Associate Member of IMO, Hong Kong, China has to fulfill its obligations under the international convention through the control of vessel emissions. We plan to form a working group comprising relevant bureaux and departments and invite the participation of ferry operators to conduct a trial of using cleaner fuels, as well as to explore the feasibility of adopting other environmental facilities and technologies to further reduce the emissions from ferries.
Ends/Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Issued at HKT 14:30
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