Environment Hong Kong 2009
 
Vision & Mission | Foreword | Permanent Secretary / Director's Message | Contents | Feedback | 繁體 | 简体 | HTML | PDF
 
Introduction | Cross-boundary and International Co-operation | Community Awareness | Customer Service and Partnerships | Environmental Assessment and Planning | Air | Noise | Waste | Water | Nature Conservation | Environmental Compliance | Energy | Sustainable Development
 
 

Foreword

Environment Hong Kong 2009 reports on the progress we have made in building a greener living environment in Hong Kong.  From improved air quality and better sewage treatment, to cleaner energy sources and reduced waste loads, we have made headway in tackling some of our long-existing pollution problems at root and laid the foundation for future initiatives for key policy areas, including the long-term improvement of air quality and combat against climate change.

Photo - Edward YAU, Secretary for the Environment

On waste, with the concerted efforts of the community, we have reduced domestic loads by more than 10 per cent in the past five years. However, our landfills are still receiving thousands of tonnes of municipal solid waste every day, creating enormous pressure on our land.  As our landfills will be full by the early to mid 2010s, we must start advance preparation work, which includes the building of waste treatment facilities and extension of landfills, to ensure the city's municipal wastes will continue to be properly disposed of in the future. At the same time, we are committed to finding ways to reduce municipal solid waste. Apart from continuing with our public education, we have implemented the environmental levy scheme on plastic shopping bags under the producer responsibility schemes to discourage the indiscriminate use of plastic bags.

Thanks to the initial works of the Harbour Area Treatment Scheme (HATS), the water quality in our harbour has seen notable improvement in recent years.  Construction has now started on HATS Stage 2A, which will lead to the reopening of some of our beaches in the New Territories.  We shall begin a review of our Water Quality Objectives, which date back to the 1980s, with the aim of bringing them in line with international standards and the community's aspirations for cleaner water.

Air quality remains at the top of our agenda. We have just launched a consultation exercise on a new set of Air Quality Objectives (AQOs) for Hong Kong, with public health as the primary consideration.  A concrete strategy for meeting such AQOs will also be put in place.

On combating climate change, our core strategy is to promote energy efficiency and emission reduction in buildings, having regard to Hong Kong's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of around six tonnes per person and the highly concentrated nature of such emissions, with about 50% from the use of electricity in buildings.  In the current fiscal year alone, over $1 billion has been allocated for energy efficiency enhancement in both public and government buildings. We are ready to go ahead with the building of a district cooling system in the Kai Tak redevelopment area and shall continue to identify opportunities to install infrastructures that will help the city reduce GHG emissions. Other emission reduction measures include the promotion of electric vehicles and review of controls on tungsten light-bulbs.

2008 was a landmark year in the Hong Kong-Guangdong co-operation. The two sides agreed to adopt the "Green Pearl River Delta Quality Living Area" as the common vision for the Pearl River Delta (PRD) region.  This is an important vision that underpins our environmental initiatives. Together with Macao, we will develop strategies to transform the PRD region into a low carbon, high technology, low pollution cluster of cities that offer a quality lifestyle.

These achievements would not have been possible without your contribution and support. Let us continue to work together to build a greener living environment for ourselves and for subsequent generations.

Edward YAU
Secretary for the Environment

 
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