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The following is issued on behalf of the Environment and Conservation Fund (ECF) Committee:
The Environment and Conservation Fund (ECF) Committee today (March 18) approved a total of $13 million to support two scientific studies conducted by local universities on air pollution.
The projects are approved in the light of ECF's recent decision on further promoting the use of the fund for researches on environmental protection and conservation. In addition to air quality, climate change, green transport, ecological and geo conservation, and waste reduction are among the numerous priority areas of research that the ECF would seek to support.
The two projects, lasting for about four years, aim to strengthen understanding on the nature and sources of fine particles as well as the formation of the photochemical smog pollution in Hong Kong. Coupled with the monitoring data of the air quality monitoring network of the Environmental Protection Department (EPD), the findings of the two studies will contribute towards the formulation of an effective control strategy to tackle the particulate and photochemical smog pollution problems, which have become a dominating air pollution issue in the Pearl River Delta region.
One of the studies, which will be led by Professor Chak K. Chan of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, will focus on real time characterisation of fine particles in the air. Professor Wang Tao of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, on the other hand, will head his team to conduct research on photochemical air pollution.
Heretofore unavailable real-time data covering a wide range of air pollutants will be measured with advanced monitoring equipment in the studies. Comprehensive data analyses will be conducted to find out the sources and key chemical pathways leading to the formation of particulates, visibility impairment and photochemical smog pollution in Hong Kong.
The EPD welcomes the initiatives and looks forward to the findings of the studies, which will help pinpoint the causes of the particulate and photochemical smog pollution problems in the Pearl Delta River Region and draw up the necessary control strategy. The two studies are also another step that the Government and the academia work in partnership for cleaner air in Hong Kong and the Pearl Delta River Region.
Established under the Environment and Conservation Fund Ordinance, the ECF provides funding support for education, research, technology demonstration and other projects/activities in relation to environmental and conservation matters.
The Committee has identified priority research themes and welcomes research proposals from local tertiary institutions to seek funding support. More details on the application procedure and projects approved can be found on ECF website (www.ecf.gov.hk/en/home/index.html).
Ends/Thursday, March 18, 2010
Issued at HKT 18:05
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