Letter to the Editor of International Herald Tribune - Response to a letter on air quality

 
Letter to the Editor of International Herald Tribune – Response to a letter on air quality

I refer to your article “For Hong Kong firms, an air of concern” of April 1, 2010.

We share the community’s concerns on air pollution and attach great importance to air quality improvement, both for our citizens' health and for our competitiveness. We are taking strong actions to cut emissions.

Locally, we have been implementing stringent control measures comparable to other advanced countries. We have banned new coal-fired power plants since 1997 and imposed emission caps on power plants since 2005. For the transport sector, we have one of the most stringent vehicular fuel and emission standards in the region, introduced a grant scheme for replacing older diesel vehicles and provided tax incentives to promote environment-friendly alternatives. Actions are also under way to ban idling vehicles, promote biodiesel and try cleaner fuels on ferries. For stationary sources, we are among the very few places that require the use of ultra-low sulphur diesel. Also, our controls on products containing volatile organic compounds are similar to the most stringent programme in California.

To tackle regional pollution, we have reached an agreement with Guangdong to reduce the emissions in the Pearl River Delta Region by 20% to 55% by 2010, using 1997 as the baseline year. We are also working closely on post-2010 emission reduction arrangements for the region to further improve air quality.

In parallel, we are reviewing our Air Quality Objectives (AQOs) in light of the WHO’s recommendations. We have recently completed a public consultation on proposals which are comparable with those adopted by the EU and USA, together with a host of 19 control measures for achieving the proposed AQOs. We are now studying the views collected to decide on the best way forward.

We shall continue to leave no stone unturned to improve our air quality.

PANG Sik Wing
Principal Environmental Protection Officer
Environmental Protection Department