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Following is a question by Hon Lam Tai-fai and a reply by the Secretary for the Environment, Mr Edward Yau, in the Legislative Council today (June 17):
Question:
It has been reported that the air quality of Hong Kong deteriorated in late May this year, and the readings of the Air Pollution Index (API) recorded by the roadside monitoring stations set up by the Environmental Protection Department in Central, Causeway Bay, and Mong Kok were all at "High" or "Very High" level. For instance, the API readings of the roadside monitoring stations in Central and Mong Kok were as high as 134 and 139 respectively on May 31 this year, which were at "Very High" level. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether:
(a) it has looked into the causes for the prolonged poor air quality of Hong Kong and its recent deterioration;
(b) it will discuss with the mainland authorities in the near future the recent deterioration in air quality, with a view to formulating new responsive measures collaboratively; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(c) it had assessed in the past three years the impact of air pollution on the four areas: public health, healthcare expenditure, economic loss and brain drain of Hong Kong; if it had, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
(a) Local emissions and regional air pollution are the major challenge to the air quality in Hong Kong.
Roadside air pollution is caused mainly by the emissions of local vehicles. Regional air pollution is however caused by the pollutants emitted by vehicles, factories and power plants in Hong Kong and the Pearl River Delta (PRD) region. The rapid economic developments of Hong Kong and the neighbouring PRD region in recent years have brought about a corresponding increase in the demand for power supply, transport, industrial and commercial activities, leading to an increase in pollutant emission. They are the primary factor affecting the air quality in Hong Kong and Guangdong.
To improve air quality, we have been dedicating ourselves to controlling local pollutant emissions and working in concert with Guangdong Province to reduce emissions in PRD. The data of the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) has indicated that our overall air quality has improved in recent years.
To improve roadside air pollution, the Government, since 1999, has embarked on a series of control measures targeting vehicles. It includes the introduction of ultra low sulphur diesel in 2000 that cut sulphur dioxide emission drastically; programmes for incentivising the replacement of diesel taxis and light buses with liquefied petroleum gas vehicles which were completed in 2003 and 2005 respectively; mandating in 2007 the retrofit of particulate removal devices for all pre-Euro diesel vehicles; introducing Euro IV vehicle emission standards in 2006 in tandem with the European Union; launching in 2007 an incentive scheme to encourage vehicle owners to replace their pre-Euro and Euro I diesel commercial vehicles with new vehicles and a tax concession scheme to encourage the use of environment-friendly petrol private cars; introducing Euro V motor vehicle diesel in 2007. The above measures have been producing results. As compared with 1999, the roadside concentrations of sulphur dioxide (SO2) decreased by 19%, respirable suspended particulates (RSP) by 22% and nitrogen oxides (NOx) by 23% in 2008. The number of smoky vehicles spotted also dropped by 80%.
Moreover, based on the data for the past decade, our general air quality deteriorated in 2003 and 2004 but improved in the last five years. During the latter period (i.e. from 2004 to 2008), the levels of major pollutants recorded at ambient air quality monitoring stations had dropped: RSP lowered by 15%, nitrogen dioxide by 9%, SO2 by 20% and ozone by 10%. The number of hours of reduced visibility recorded by the Hong Kong Observatory decreased from 1,570 hours in 2004 to 1,100 hours in 2008. These figures show that emission reduction measures implemented by Hong Kong and the Guangdong Provincial Government have brought about improvements to air quality in the PRD region.
However, I stress and believe Members would agree that, a lot more need to be done to improve the air quality in Hong Kong to meet the expectation of the public. For example, there are still quite a number of occasions in a year, including the few days mentioned by Hon Lam Tai-fai, on which pollutants accumulate under the influence of regional air pollution or meteorological factors. The exceedance of Air Pollution Index (API) in late May this year was mainly caused by the light wind conditions in Hong Kong and the PRD region, leading to the accumulation of pollutants due to poor dispersion. The pollutants, under bright sunlight, formed photochemical smog. Under such unfavourable meteorological conditions, the general API and roadside API in Hong Kong shot up to a very high level. Subsequent arrival of a relatively clean maritime air stream improved air dispersion conditions and hence the air quality.
(b) Hong Kong and Guangdong have been working closely to improve air quality in the PRD region. In 2002, both sides agreed on a set of emission reduction targets to be met in 2010. In 2003, the PRD Regional Air Quality Management Plan was formulated and ongoing efforts are being made to implement a series of air quality improvement targets and measures.
To further strengthen the emission reduction efforts, the Hong Kong and Guangdong Provincial Governments have implemented enhanced measures, such as the "Cleaner Production Partnership Programme" launched by the Hong Kong Government early last year to incentivise Hong Kong factory owners in the PRD to pursue cleaner production practices for reducing emissions. In March this year, the Guangdong Provincial Government launched the "Measures on the Prevention and Control of Atmospheric Pollution in the PRD Region of Guangdong". They provide for emission control measures targeting power plants, traffic and industrial processes, such as promoting desulphurisation, dust extraction, de-NOx and low-NOx combustion technologies for coal-fired and oil-fired power plants, as well as plants using industrial boilers and kilns; supplying the cleaner National III motor fuel in all PRD cities by end 2009; and implementing comprehensive vapour recovery controls on petrol storage tanks, petrol filling stations and petrol tanker trucks in PRD region before end 2010.
Hong Kong and Guangdong have established a standing mechanism to discuss regularly the effectiveness of the air improvement measures in achieving the 2010 emission reduction targets jointly agreed by both sides. At the ninth meeting of the Hong Kong Guangdong Joint Working Group on Sustainable Development and Environmental Protection in December last year, both sides reaffirmed their confidence in achieving the agreed emission reduction targets in 2010. Both sides will continue to explore new targets and measures to improve the regional air quality of the PRD in future.
The collaboration of both sides will not be confined to tackling pollution issues only. We also aim to extend the collaboration to realize the aim of "Transforming the Greater Pearl River Delta Region into a Green and Quality Living Area" on the basis of environmental protection and sustainable development, so as to lift the living quality in Guangdong Province and PRD.
(c) The EPD commissioned the Hong Kong University and the Chinese University to conduct a study on the effects of air pollution on health in Hong Kong. Based on the analysis of local air quality data and the daily counts of hospital admissions in 12 public hospitals under the Hospital Authority throughout the year, coefficients for the possible correlation between air pollution and respiratory and cardiovascular diseases were derived. The coefficients were also used to project the resulting economic losses. The study was completed in 2002 and its findings were published on the EPD website.
Based on the coefficients of the study and the air pollution data in recent years, it is estimated that the annual economic losses due to health problem induced by air pollution (including consultation fee, hospitalisation expenses and loss of productivity due to illness) could amount to $1.7 billion per year.
As to the assessment of the impacts of air pollution on other economic areas and brain drain, since they can be affected by a multitude of factors, it is difficult to make an accurate assessment based on various figures. For example, the numbers of visitor arrivals, overseas enterprises with offices in Hong Kong and cases of Quality Migrant Admission Scheme (QMA Scheme) (statistics in Annex) over the past few years were on an increasing trend.
However, we understand that the people of Hong Kong, visitors and expatriates working here all expect continuous improvement in our air quality. The Government will spare no efforts in improving air quality as a priority task. To improve air quality in the long run, we are reviewing the Air Quality Objectives and will adopt targets in stages in accordance with the guidelines issued by the World Health Organization on air quality. We will conduct public consultation on the review to work out a longer term strategy on improving air quality.
Ends/Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Issued at HKT 17:26
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