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Letter to the Editor of SCMP - Response to a letter on air quality
I would like to respond to Terry Scott’s letter (“Officials do not seem to care”) of December 13.
The Government attaches great importance to improving our air quality. To this end, we have been undertaking a host of measures to tackle our major air pollution sources and making joint efforts with the Mainland to improve the air quality of the whole Pearl River Delta region. For example, we have further tightened the already very stringent emission caps of the power plants, imposed stringent standards for the emissions of new vehicles and vehicle fuels, provided financial grants and tax incentives to encourage early replacement of old diesel commercial vehicles and wider use of environment-friendly vehicles. Actions are in hand to ban idling vehicles with running engines and set up a $300 million Pilot Green Transport Fund to test out green and low-carbon transport technology.
Our efforts have borne fruits. We are seeing improvement in both the local and regional context. Over the five years from 2005 to 2009, our ambient concentration levels of respirable suspended particulate, sulphur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide reduced by 15%, 36% and 4% respectively. Over the same period, the roadside concentrations of the first two pollutants also fell by 19% and 36% respectively. There was, however, an increase in the nitrogen dioxide level at roadside, particularly at busy corridors, and hence the further control of nitrogen oxides from vehicles has now become one of our priorities.
At busy corridors, franchised buses are the major source of emissions. The Chief Executive has announced in the 2010 Policy Address new control measures targeting franchised buses, including a trial of retrofitting on Euro II and III franchised buses with "Selective Catalytic Reduction” devices, which together with the diesel particulate filters being installed in these buses, could upgrade their emission performance to Euro IV levels; designating pilot Low Emission Zones in Causeway Bay, Central and Mong Kok with an aim to increase as far as possible the ratio of low-emission franchised buses in these zones from 2011 and to 100% by 2015; and funding the franchised bus companies to procure six hybrid buses for use along busy corridors to test out their operational efficiency and performance.
We are also actively considering the best way to update our Air Quality Objectives in light of the findings of the public consultation. In recognition of the urgency to take action to improve air quality, we have spared no efforts in introducing further air quality improvement measures, particularly those that the community is likely to support as outlined above. Please be assured that we will endeavour to further improve our air quality for better protection of the public health and look forward to the support of the community in our pursuit of these initiatives.
Mr. PANG Sik Wing
Principal Environment Protection Officer (Air Policy)
Environmental Protection Department
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