Agenda Item 1 : Confirmation of Minutes
of the 95th Meeting held on 29 April 2002
A Member proposed to add after the
first sentence in para. 72 "But for the purpose of statutory
land use control, the data base had to be more specific than
1km grid. She hoped that the public information would help
prevent time-consuming review and appeal procedures in future
planning applications." Another Member proposed to
revise the third sentence in para. 40 to read "On the other
hand, if the advisory role¡K..Policy Unit, the Council....".
As for the second sentence in para. 40, the second Member
said that though it was correctly recorded, he actually intended
to refer to the Council instead of the Subcommittee because
the EIA Ordinance only made reference to the full Council.
The minutes were confirmed subject to the above proposed amendments.
Agenda Item 2 : Matters Arising
Para. 2 - Performance of the Chemical Waste
Treatment Centre at Tsing Yi
2. The Chairman informed Members that
EPD would present a report and brief Members on the operation
of the Chemical Waste Treatment Centre at the next meeting.
Para. 6 - A Member's comments on the EIA Report on the
Decommissioning of Cheoy Lee Shipyard
3. Members noted that the Secretariat
had passed on a Member's comments to the project proponent
(i.e. CED) and EPD for their consideration.(Post-meeting note
: Response from EPD to that Member was received and circulated
to Members on 4 June 2002.)
Para. 19 - Briefing on improving air quality
in Pearl River Delta Region
4. The Chairman said that the briefing
would be conducted under agenda item 4 of the meeting.
Agenda Item 3 : Proposed amendments
to Waste Disposal (Refuse Transfer Station) Regulation and
Waste Disposal (Designated Waste Disposal Facility) Regulation
(Cap. 354)(ACE Paper 17/2002)
5. The Chairman welcomed Ms. Annie
Choi and Dr. Lawrence Wong to the meeting. Ms. Choi
briefed Members on the proposed legislative amendments.
6. In reply to a Member's question on the
different level of charges, Ms. Choi explained that
the different charges for the Northwest New Territories Transfer
Station and the Ma Wan Transfer Station were due to the different
additional cost in handling municipal solid waste delivered
by private waste collectors in those two facilities. Dr.
Wong supplemented that the additional handling cost of
Ma Wan Transfer Station was higher because of the comparatively
smaller size of the facility.
7. The Chairman proposed and Members
agreed to endorse the proposals set out under para. 19 of
the paper.
Agenda Item 4: Briefing on Improving
Air Quality in Pearl River Delta Region
(ACE Paper 15/2002)
8. The Chairman welcomed Messrs. Howard
Chan, C W Tse, Michael Chan and David Yeung to the meeting.
Mr. Howard Chan briefed Members on the background of
the Study of Air Quality in the Pearl River Delta Region (the
Study) and the consensus reached by the Hong Kong Government
and the Guangdong Provincial Government in tackling the regional
air pollution problem. Mr. Michael Chan presented the
findings of the Study and the suggested measures in detail.
9. Noting that one of suggested measures in
the Study report was that the Pearl River Delta Economic Zone
(PRDEZ) should acquire more electricity from western provinces,
the Chairman was concerned that the air quality in
PRDEZ might be improved at the expense of the western area.
In response, Mr. Michael Chan clarified that the report
recommended that energy should be generated from cleaner fuel
or methods such as hydroelectric power plants in the western
provinces.
10. A Member asked how it could be
ensured that the public would consume energy generated from
cleaner source. In reply, Mr. Michael Chan said that
the forces of supply and demand in the market could affect
consumption pattern.
11. A Member commended the initiative
taken by the two governments to address the regional air pollution
problem. He welcomed the suggested measures on the energy
sector, because apart from improving air quality, they would
also reduce green house gas emissions. However, in the absence
of an energy policy, the feasibility of such measures was
uncertain. Also, the Study report emphasized the visibility
aspect and seemed to have neglected the health aspect. Since
improvement required joint efforts, he asked how Hong Kong's
air quality would be affected in case the Guangdong side fell
short of their targets.
12. In response to a Member's comments, Mr.
Michael Chan said that visibility was only one of the
indicators of the air quality. The focus of the Study was
on meeting the air quality objectives of the two places. The
objectives were set to protect public health. As regard the
achievement of targets, Mr. Chan said that both governments
had committed to making their best efforts to tackle the regional
air pollution problem. The expert group would need to monitor
the implementation of improvement measures with a view to
achieving the agreed targets.
13. In response to a Member's comments, Mr.
Howard Chan said that the expert group would assess in
detail the feasibility of the suggested measures and draw
up a regional air quality management plan. At present, all
new power plants in Hong Kong must use cleaner fuels like
natural gas.
14. A Member echoed a previous Member's
concerns and said that the two governments could address the
problem squarely only if the proportion of pollution attributed
from each side was assessed. In response, Mr. Michael Chan
said that it was not important to differentiate the extent
of the problem caused by each side because the problem would
still exist if only one side were to address the issue on
its own. The pertinent point was that both governments had
recognized the regional problem and were determined to tackle
it from their own end.
15. A Member asked whether the results
of the joint monitoring would be made public. In reply, Mr.
C W Tse said that the expert group would take time to
set up the monitoring network. Once the network was established,
the annual monitoring results would be reported to the Hong
Kong/Guangdong Cooperation Joint Conference. Thereafter, EPD
would be happy to brief the Council on the findings. The
Chairman suggested and Mr. Tse undertook to report to
the Council the terms of reference of the expert group and
its work schedule after the group was set up.
16. A Member asked how sensitive the
suggested measures would be in terms of emission reduction
in different types of pollutants. He noted that the report
had put enormous emphasis on Air Quality Objectives (AQOs)
and air quality standards in the Mainland. However, those
objectives and standards were often out of date and bore little
relationship to health risks. AQOs were subject to regular
review over the world. According to some tentative figures
given by the World Health Organisation (WHO), the acceptable
nitrogen dioxide (NO2) concentration was half the present
level in Hong Kong. The WHO's suggested figure for respirable
suspended particulate concentration, though already less than
half of that in Hong Kong, was still considered as imposing
adverse health impact on children. He was worried that the
ultimate outcome of implementing the suggested measures would
best be maintaining the status quo. He therefore asked if
there were any realistic objectives for the whole exercise,
in particular in terms of health benefits.
17. In response to that Member's comments,
Mr. Michael Chan said that Hong Kong's AQOs were comparable
to major developed countries like the United States.
18. A Member said that a recent study
suggested that chronic exposure to some of the pollutants
would not only affect lungs but also DNAs. The Government
should adopt an integrated approach of particulate matter
PM 2.5 and ozone which would provide a more definitive indicator
on health risk. She asked whether air quality measurements
in areas outside the PRD region had been taken to serve as
background data and whether there had been cross-calibration
of equipment to ensure the accuracy of the data in the Study.
She also enquired about the type of data that the consultant
had access to and whether emission trading was possible within
the region.
19. On the issues of AQOs and new standards
of PM2.5, Mr. Thomas Chow said that the Government
had been watching closely overseas development on those two
areas. The Unites States had yet to develop a plan to meet
the new PM2.5 objectives. Also, the European Union (EU) had
committed to completing a review of their current AQOs by
2003. The Administration would take into account the outcome
of the EU review and what the United States planned to do
in deciding whether the AQOs in Hong Kong should be reviewed
and if so, what changes would be necessary.
20 Mr. Michael Chan showed Members
a map to demonstrate that background air quality measurements
had been taken outside the PRD region. On the issue of equipment,
he said that the experts ensured that the equipment was calibrated
and that the whole process was conducted in an accurate and
proper manner. The consultant's data was obtained from experts
of both sides. On emission trading, it was possible to increase
emission from one source if emission from another source within
the same region was reduced.
21. A Member welcomed the achievement
made in terms of the consensus reached and targets agreed
by the two governments. However, he felt that the commitment
"on a best endeavour basis" was a bit vague. In addition to
ultimate targets by 2010, he suggested setting up interim
targets to keep track of the progress of work. He felt that
apart from tackling the problem on the technical front, support
from the community was crucial to the success of the exercise.
The Administration should therefore devote more attention
to solicit public support.
22. Mr. Howard Chan said that the regional
air quality management plan would be implemented in phases.
Among other things, the expert group would be tasked to monitor
the progress made and the effectiveness of the measures implemented.
Public consultation would be conducted for any additional
proposed control measures for Hong Kong once they were drawn
up. The Administration would consult the Council on any such
proposals and keep the Council informed of the progress of
work.
23. A Member queried if setting the
same targets for emission reduction for both sides was realistic.
In the absence of an energy policy in Hong Kong, little could
be done in the local energy sector. In response, Mr. Howard
Chan said that the agreed targets, though aggressive,
were technically achievable.
24. Noting that the targets were set using
1997 as the base year, and that there had been improvements
in air quality since 1997, a Member enquired about
the actual targets for emission reduction. In reply, Mr.
Michael Chan explained that the emission figures in 2000
in fact showed an increase when compared to those in 1997.
Therefore, the emission reduction targets were even tougher
than they seemed to be.
25. A Member remarked that she was
a bit puzzled by Mr. Michael Chan's reply because air quality
in Hong Kong had been improved in the past few years. She
also asked whether the report had taken into account aircraft
emissions when drawing up the recommendations.
26. In response, Mr. Michael Chan clarified
that whilst local air quality had indeed been improving in
recent years due to the implementation of various vehicle
emission control schemes, regional air quality continued to
deteriorate. As for aircraft emission, since it contributed
to less than 10% of the total emission and was governed by
international aviation treaties, the report had not made any
recommendations on that front.
27. A Member expressed concern about
the reliability of the data sources. He asked where the figures
for the year 1991 to 2001 were obtained and whether the data
had been accepted by the Guangdong Provincial Government.
28. In response, Mr. Michael Chan said
that the source of data was highly reliable. The figures on
visibility were obtained from the World Meteorology Organisation
which took measurements at the Guangzhou airport. The data
adopted in the Study report had also been accepted by the
Guangdong side.
29. A Member pointed out that Hong
Kong and Guangdong were at different stages of economic development
and therefore might need different methods to tackle the air
pollution problem. Vehicle emission was a major source of
air pollution in Hong Kong. As a role model, Hong Kong should
demonstrate to her counterpart by taking steps such as better
planning of transport infrastructure and reducing vehicle
emissions. Whilst public consultation had its merits, the
Administration should firmly proceed with the exercise albeit
there might be objection from people with vested interest.
Finally, he enquired about the estimated economic implications
of the whole exercise.
30. In response, Mr. Thomas Chow said
that there were two major recommendations in the report for
Hong Kong to implement. One was to reduce emission of volatile
organic compounds. Although the production cost of printing
ink and the price of consumer products concerned might increase
as a result of the proposed measures, the overall economic
impact, as suggested by overseas experience, was anticipated
to be minimal. The other suggestion was to reduce emissions
by local power plants. As the Economic Services Bureau was
undertaking a review of the post-2008 power industry, it would
be premature to produce a meaningful cost estimate before
the completion of the review and before we knew what measures
would be taken to meet the emission reduction targets concerning
power plants.
31. A Member agreed with Prof. Hills
that Hong Kong should stand as a role model for the Guangdong
side. He noticed that workers in petrol filling stations were
not protected from the vapour released during the refilling
process. Also, burning of waste and plastic was uncontrolled
in the Mainland and that could result in dioxin emission.
Some actions should be taken in those two areas..
32. In response to that Member's remarks regarding
petrol filling stations, Mr. Tse explained that at
present the stations were required to install a vapour recovery
system for loading fuel into the underground tank. The next
stage would be the installation of a vapour recovery system
at the fuel pumps. EPD was working on that proposal in collaboration
with operators of filling stations and oil companies. As regard
burning of waste in the Mainland, the emission of dioxin arising
from burning was a localized rather than a regional problem.
There were at present two dioxin-monitoring stations in Hong
Kong. The monitoring data showed that the level of dioxin
in the ambient air was well within standard.
33. A Member pointed out that town
planning in the Mainland did not catch up with the increase
in the number of vehicles. She asked whether vehicle emissions
during traffic congestion would have a greater impact on air
quality and expressed concern about the extent that vehicle
owners in the Mainland would provide regular maintenance for
their vehicles.
34. In response, Mr. Michael Chan said
that the effect of traffic congestion on air quality had been
taken into account in the Study. One of the suggested measures
for the Guangdong side to consider was to expedite the schedule
for introducing vehicles of higher-standard engines. In that
regard, the Study report suggested that vehicles using Euro
III and Euro IV engines should be introduced by 2005 and 2010
respectively. As for vehicle maintenance, the report also
proposed that the Guangdong side should come up with an advanced
vehicle inspection/maintenance programme to ensure that vehicles
were properly maintained.
35. A Member updated Members on the
manufacturing of vehicles. The price of vehicles of cleaner
engines was going down as the technology matured. European
manufacturers had stopped producing Euro II engines whilst
Japan had not. Upon implementation of the next stage of vapour
recovery system for petrol filling stations, the ozone concentration
in Hong Kong was expected to decrease by 1%. The air quality
in Tung Chung was often worse than the other parts of the
territory. Aircraft emissions might be the cause.
36. Mr. Tse clarified that the air
pollution problem in Tung Chung had very little to do with
aircraft emissions. The fact that ozone concentration would
have a higher record in Tung Chung was because ozone would
react with nitrogen oxides in urban areas to form NO2 thus
reducing the concentration in those areas.
37. The Chairman thanked the Administration
and the consultant for the briefing and welcomed the collaboration
between the Hong Kong and Guangdong Provincial Governments
on tackling the regional air quality problem.
Agenda Item 5: Speeding up of public
works projects - Foreshore and Sea-bed and Roads (Miscellaneous
Amendments) Bill 2002
(ACE Paper 18/2002)
38. The Chairman welcomed Messrs. K
K Kwok, Raistlin Lau, and C L Ng to the meeting. Mr. K
K Kwok briefed Members on the proposals.
39. The Chairman had reservation on
shortening the public objection period from two months to
one month lest there would not be sufficient time for the
public to raise objections. In response, Mr. Kwok said
that the public would have had knowledge about the project
through consultation with District Councils and various advisory
bodies before gazettal of the project. One month was considered
sufficient.
40. A Member agreed with the Chairman
and added that the one-month objection period would unlikely
satisfy the legislators given that public interest was involved.
41. Two Members also considered that
one month would not be sufficient for the public to make an
informed decision on whether to raise an objection or not.
42. A Member shared Members' concerns
as well. She said that there was value for the public to participate
in the process as they might come up with alternative proposals.
Also, the objection process would depend on the amount and
the comprehensiveness of information provided to the public.
43. A Member enquired about the steps
taken by the Government upon receiving an objection. He also
suggested that Government should ensure better coordination
among different works projects in the same area to minimize
the disturbance to the public.
44. Mr. Kwok explained that upon receiving
an objection within the objection period, the project proponent
would try to resolve the objection through consultation. If
the objection was still unresolved after the statutory period,
the Works Department would seek an extension from the Chief
Executive. If it remained unresolved at the end of the extended
period, it would be referred to the Chief Executive in Council
for a decision. Of the 24 sewerage projects carried out over
the past five years, only one of the projects had unresolved
objections.
45. A Member made reference to the
Town Planning Ordinance, under which the public was allowed
to raise objections within two months after gazettal of proposals
and put forward alternatives within the following nine months.
She considered that a good practice as the public needed time
to work out an alternative. In response, Mr. Kwok said that
under the existing practice, the public was also allowed to
put forward alternatives within the objection resolution period.
46. A Member was of the opinion that
prolonged objections might slow down the progress of a project
and affect economic development in some cases. He supported
the proposal of shortening the objection period. 47. A
Member said that from her own experience, even two months
was sometimes insufficient for raising a substantive objection.
As the total objection resolution period would be shortened
from 15 months to seven months, retaining the two-month objection
period would not significantly affect the ultimate objective
of the proposal.
48. In response to that Member's enquiry,
Mr. Kwok confirmed that one month referred to one calendar
month.
49. Mr. Kwok thanked Members for their
comments and said that he would take them into consideration.
50. The Chairman concluded that except
for the proposal to shorten the objection period from two
months to one month, the Council supported the recommendations
set out in the paper.
Agenda Item 6 : Briefing on Hong Kong
Green Label Scheme
(ACE Paper 19/2002)
51. The Chairman informed the meeting
that Mr. Edward Ho, as the Vice Chairman of Green Council,
Prof. Lam Kin-che and Mr. Lin Chaan-ming had declared interest.
He then welcomed Ms. Linda Ho, Mr. Eric Ching, and Miss Norrie
Kitchell to the meeting. Ms. Ho gave Members a presentation
on the Hong Kong Green Label Scheme (HKGLS).
52. In response to the Chairman's question
about the nature and scope of work of the Green Council (GC),
Miss Kitchell said that GC was basically a green group
but it concentrated more on the activity and education sides.
It organized school activities to promote environmental friendliness
and recently conducted a competition on green label logo.
By engaging the public in those activities, it was expected
that they would be more aware of green consumerism. HKGLS
was only one of the major tasks of GC. 53. In response to
the Chairman's enquiry, Miss Kitchell said that GC was a green
group but not a pressure group.
54. A Member asked how HKGLS would
obtain recognition from consumers and whether there was support
from the Government. He considered that legislative support
was necessary to gain acceptance from the community.
55. Mr. Edward Ho, speaking in the
capacity as the Vice Chairman of GC, disagreed with a Member's
point regarding legislative support because the incentive
of the applicants under the HKGLS was to gain market access
to other countries as labeled products would have an edge
over their competitors which were not labeled.
56. A Member asked whether the Government
supported the HKGLS and if so, whether there was a policy
on green consumerism. In response, Mr. Donald Tong
said that the Government in principle welcomed private-sector
initiatives in promoting green consumerism in Hong Kong. In
most economies, eco-labeling schemes were not run by Government.
In some economies, more than one eco-labeling schemes existed
at the same time. As there were no international standards
on eco-labeling schemes at the moment and bearing in mind
any proposed eco-labeling assessment criteria would cut across
a wide range of trades, it would take a long time to work
out standards that were acceptable to the relevant trades
and the community if such a scheme were taken up by the Government.
That said, the Government would keep in view international
development on eco-labeling and review the local situation
from time to time.
57. A Member welcomed the HKGLS. He
said that it was important for the scheme to be perceived
as up to professional standards and therefore asked whether
it had been independently audited. He also relayed Mrs. Mei
Ng's following questions on the subject -
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