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AIR POLLUTION CONTROL STRATEGIES
Air Quality Objectives
Mobile Pollution Sources
Stationary Pollution Sources
Regional Smog Problem
Co-operation between Guangdong and Hong Kong
Enhanced Air Pollution Control Measures in Hong Kong
Emissions Reduction by Guangdong
Mobile Pollution Sources
The road traffic density of Hong Kong is among the highest in the world. There are about 530 000 vehicles in Hong Kong but the total road length is about only 1 900 km, i.e. 275 vehicles per kilometer. In addition, about one-fourth of these vehicles use diesel fuel which is relatively more polluting, and they contribute to about half of the vehicle mileage in Hong Kong. Owing to the high density of buildings, pollutants cannot be dispersed effectively on the streets. As a result, large quantities of RSP and nitrogen oxides (NOx) accumulate at roadside.
To reduce emissions from local vehicles, the Government announced a package of initiatives in the 1999 Policy Address, including the following:
| (a) |
providing an incentive scheme for the replacement of diesel taxis with liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) taxis. The LPG taxi incentive scheme was completed in late 2003 and, currently, 99.8% of all taxis in Hong Kong run on LPG; |
| (b) |
providing an incentive scheme since 2002 for replacing diesel light buses with LPG or electric light buses. The scheme is in good progress. Over three-fourth of the newly registered public light buses are LPG ones; |
| (c) |
introducing ultra low sulphur diesel (i.e. Euro IV diesel) which is 86% less polluting than Euro III diesel; |
| (d) |
implementing an incentive scheme to assist the owners of about 40 000 pre-Euro light diesel vehicles to retrofit their vehicles with traps or catalytic converters. The scheme was completed in late 2001. The installation has been made mandatory since December 2003; |
| (e) |
implementing an incentive scheme to help the owners of nearly 40 000 pre-Euro heavy diesel vehicles to retrofit their vehicles with catalytic converters, and to introduce legislation to make the installation mandatory upon completion of the scheme by end-2004; |
| (f) |
requiring newly registered vehicles to comply with Euro III emission standards concurrently with EU with effect from 2001; and |
| (g) |
increasing significantly the penalty for smoky vehicles from $450 to $1,000 and stepped up law enforcement. |
These initiatives have already proven to be effective. Compared with 1999, the number of smoky vehicles dropped by over 70% in 2003. RSP and NOx at roadside dropped by 13% and 23% respectively. Although the roadside air quality in Hong Kong had improved, the concentrations of RSP recorded by general air quality monitoring stations had increased from their 1999 levels by 4%, whereas those of ozone had increased by as much as 18% during the same period. It is evident from these figures that the air quality of Hong Kong is increasingly affected by regional air pollution as the Mainland economy continues to grow.
With the economic development in Guangdong and the increasing affluence of the people, the number of vehicles has risen two-fold from 1.15 million in 1995 to 2.31 million in 2002. The Guangdong authorities have made headways in addressing vehicular emissions:
| (a) |
new emission standards equivalent to Euro II were adopted in July 2004 for new vehicles. With effect from July 2005, all vehicles will have to meet such standards; |
| (b) |
the sulphur content of motor diesel was reduced from 0.5% to 0.2% in 2002 and diesel with a sulphur content of 0.05% has been introduced in some areas; and |
| (c) |
subway lines are under construction in the region and the Inter-City Fast Rail-Communication Network Project in the PRD Economic Zone has been submitted for state approval. | |