HONG KONG 2004 - The Environment

Air quality in Hong Kong is typical of any large modern city. Diesel emissions and fine dust in the urban areas are the most pressing problems. As a result of various measures taken to reduce emissions from motor vehicles, the roadside air quality is improving. Between 1999 and 2003, the concentrations of respirable suspended particulates and nitrogen oxides, the two major air pollutants at the roadside, declined by 13 per cent and 23 per cent, respectively.

Hong Kong's objectives for air quality are comparable with standards adopted in developed countries. Hong Kong is closely monitoring the latest overseas developments in air quality standards.

Many factories and commercial activities produce air-borne emissions. The EPD operates a range of controls under the Air Pollution Control Ordinance and its subsidiary regulations, including licensing of some large industrial facilities and specific controls on furnace and chimney installations, dark smoke emissions, fuel quality, open burning, dust emissions from construction works, emissions from petrol filling stations and perchloroethylene emissions from dry-cleaning facilities. A regulation is being prepared to reduce vapour emissions from vehicle refuelling. The Air Pollution Control Ordinance bans the import and sale of the more dangerous types of asbestos, namely amosite and crocidolite. Moreover, anyone intending to remove asbestos must engage registered professionals, and submit asbestos investigation reports and plans to the department.

Air pollution arouses much public concern, especially when factories are near homes. In 2004, the department handled 13 320 complaints of air pollution (of which 7 640 were about smoky vehicles and only 579 were factory related) and issued 15 153 legal notices instructing offenders to abate air pollution.

The Montreal Protocol is applicable to the Hong Kong Special Adminstrative Region to control all substances that deplete the ozone layer. Apart from prohibiting both local manufacture and import of substances such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and halons for local consumption under the Ozone Layer Protection Ordinance, the EPD also sets a quota to control the import of hydrochlorofluorocarbons.

Vehicle emissions are the major source of the air pollution and nuisances experienced at the roadside. The Government's policy is to apply the most stringent motor vehicle fuel and emission standards whenever they are practicable and available.

Hong Kong is moving ahead of the European Union in raising its statutory standards for motor vehicle fuel. In July 2000, Hong Kong became the first city in Asia to introduce ultra low sulphur diesel, which has a sulphur content of less than 0.005 per cent, for use in motor vehicles. From April 2002, it became the statutory standard for motor diesel. Hong Kong is a few years ahead of the European Union in this regard, as the European Union's plan is to adopt ultra low sulphur diesel as a standard in 2005.

As regards emission standards, Hong Kong follows the European Union and has adopted Euro III emission standards since January 2001 for all newly registered vehicles except newly registered diesel private cars, which must meet emission standards more stringent than the Euro III standards. Cleaner fuels and tighter emission standards introduced in the past few years have significantly reduced the pollution from motor vehicles.

To deal with the problem of in-use diesel vehicles, grants were provided to encourage owners of the 18 000 diesel taxis to replace their vehicles with ones that run on liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). This incentive programme was completed at the end of 2003. Nearly all of Hong Kong's taxis are now running on LPG. A similar scheme was launched in August 2002 to encourage the early replacement of diesel light buses with LPG or electric light buses. Over 1 200 light buses are LPG fuelled, and nearly 80 per cent of newly registered public light buses are fuelled by LPG. A programme to retrofit pre-Euro diesel light vehicles with particulate reduction devices was completed in October 2001, with about 24 000 vehicles retrofitted. A similar retrofit programme for pre-Euro diesel heavy vehicles began in December 2002. So far, over 32 000 diesel heavy vehicles have been retrofitted. A new regulation to mandate the installation for pre-Euro diesel light vehicles of up to four tonnes was introduced on December 1, 2003.

Another motor vehicle emission control strategy is to tighten control of smoky vehicles. Under the Smoky Vehicle Control Programme, all vehicles reported must be smoke tested by an advanced test method using a chassis dynamometer at designated vehicle emission testing centres to confirm that vehicle owners have rectified the smoke defects. Under this scheme, 11 626 tests were conducted in 2004.

Apart from having cleaner vehicles and cleaner fuels, it is essential to promote mass transit systems that are pollution-free at street level. The Government has adopted a policy that gives priority to rail over road, and encourages innovation wherever practical.