|
Letter to the Editor of the South China Morning Post dated 9 January 2006 - Response to an article on 30 December 2005 ("Struggling to achieve a clearer picture on pollution")
I refer to an article carried by your paper on 30 December 2005, entitled "Struggling to achieve a clearer picture on pollution".
The article claims that talks on closer cross-border co-operation have dragged on for years but have tended to produce more hot air than action. Such claim is not true. The article also highlights Ms Christine Loh's suggestion that the Government has not discussed the cross-border pollution issue with Guangdong. This is not true either.
Our co-operation with Guangdong on environmental protection dates back to the early 1990s and has produced concrete results. In 2000, to continue and deepen such co-operation, the Hong Kong–Guangdong Joint Working Group on Sustainable Development and Environmental Protection (the Joint Working Group) was set up. A major achievement of the Joint Working Group has been the two sides' commitment to tackling the regional air pollution problem. A special panel operates under the Joint Working Group to tackle air pollution problem and there are regular communications and visits throughout the year.
Our policy objectives are clear. Back in April 2002, the SAR Government and the Guangdong Provincial Government have reached a consensus to reduce, on a best endeavours basis, the regional emissions of sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, respirable suspended particulates and volatile organic compounds by 40%, 20%, 55% and 55% respectively by 2010, using 1997 as the base year.
To achieve these long-term emissions reduction targets requires a vigorous programme and vigilant execution. Thus, the two governments agreed in December 2003 on a Pearl River Delta Regional Air Quality Management Plan (the "Management Plan"). This Management Plan includes additional control measures to be taken by the two governments to reduce emissions from major pollution sources, including power plants, industrial facilities, motor vehicles and products containing volatile organic compounds; the establishment of a regional air quality monitoring network; a mechanism to assess the effectiveness of the joint actions on improving the regional air quality; and various exchange programmes and studies.
The special panel under the Joint Working Group monitors and reports annually to the two governments on the implementation of the Management Plan. One of the important milestones is the formal commissioning of the joint air quality monitoring network. With its operation, we have made public the Regional Air Quality Index (RAQI) since 30 November 2005. The Joint Working Group meeting has also agreed on a work plan so that the two sides will continue their efforts in implementing the Management Plan this year.
As to the usefulness of the RAQI data, I would to emphasize that the RAQI is intended to be a simple and straightforward indicator to give a ready and overall picture of the air quality in different parts of the PRD region. It is an aggregate measure of the four major air pollutants, namely sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, respirable suspended particulates and ozone, at each of the 16 monitoring stations in the region. On a daily basis, a map showing the RAQI values of these monitoring stations in the PRD will be made public so that people in both Guangdong and Hong Kong will learn first hand the overall air quality in different parts of the region.
The existing Air Pollution Indices (API) as reported in Hong Kong and individual Mainland cities will continue to serve the purpose of reflecting the levels of the most health-threatening air pollutant at localized districts and providing forecasts and warnings of high pollution for residents in the locality. The RAQI is meant neither to replace nor duplicate the APIs in reporting on the localized air pollution situation to the public. The two indices are therefore complementary.
The suggestion in the article that the RAQI will only be released 24 hours after the daily readings have been collected is incorrect. The RAQI is calculated and reported on a daily basis, based on the air monitoring data collected in the immediate past 24 hours. It will be reported at 4 pm each day, shortly after the end of the daily air monitoring cycle from 2 pm of the previous day up to 2 pm of the day of reporting. It represents the most up-to-date information available on the air quality in the region.
Apart from the daily RAQI report, the two governments will conduct detailed analyses of the data collected and will jointly publish a detailed regional air quality report every six months on the monitoring results and trends of the major pollutants. These results will help both governments to evaluate the regional air quality trends and the effectiveness of pollution abatement measures being implemented. The published reports will be available to the public.
Turning to our efforts at home, the article has rightly pointed out that electricity generation remains an important source of local pollutants. It is for this reason that the Chief Executive has undertaken in his Policy Address to tackle this pollution source by requiring the power companies to install effective emissions reduction devices as a pre-condition for licensing.
We are moving ahead in line with this policy commitment. In the second stage of public consultation on the future development of the post-2008 electricity market in Hong Kong, launched on the day of your article, the government has proposed to link the permitted rate of return on all fixed assets of the power companies to their achievement of the emission caps stipulated in the Specified Process Licences, as issued to them under the Air Pollution Control Ordinance. Thus, we would reduce the permitted rate of return if the companies do not achieve the emission caps. On the other hand, financial incentives in the form of "bonus" return will also be provided to encourage the power companies to reduce their emissions to levels further below the caps. This proposal will provide just the right economic incentive to the power companies to reduce the emissions.
We fully understand that the community is eager to see faster improvement in our air quality. We at the Government share just as much of this burning concern as the general public. We are serious with our policy undertaking and will move ahead as fast as practicable. However, we should not be too hasty to discredit genuine efforts made in the past, especially in cross-border co-operation. Counter-factual allegations would only dishearten stakeholders that have made painstaking sacrifices to make possible many tough measures, and would not help to encourage them to adopt more stringent controls in future.
Roy Tang
Deputy Director of Environmental Protection
|
