284 The Environment
pollution, of which some 4900 were about vehicle emissions, and issued about 1 000 legal notices instructing offenders to abate air pollution.
Transport
Vehicle emissions are the major source of air pollution and nuisance experienced at roadsides. The Government's policy is to apply the most stringent motor vehicle fuel and emission standards whenever they are practicable. Between 1999 and 2010, the concentrations of RSP, SO2 and NOx at roadsides, fell by 34 per cent, 63 per cent and 30 per cent respectively.
Hong Kong largely follows the European Union's standards on emission and fuel. All newly registered vehicles are required to comply with the Euro IV standards, except for newly registered diesel private cars, which must meet emission standards of stringency similar to those of petrol private cars. Diesel vehicles emit more NOx than petrol vehicles, which is a major contributor to smog.
Nearly all of Hong Kong's taxis now run on liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and over 60 per cent of public light buses are also fuelled by LPG. To control emissions from older vehicles, the Government has made the installation of emission reduction devices a statutory requirement for all pre-Euro diesel vehicles. This regulation went into force on April 1, 2007. Two new schemes were also launched on the same day to provide financial incentives to encourage early replacement of pre-Euro and Euro I diesel commercial vehicles with new ones compliant with the prevailing emission standards (the Euro IV standards) and the use of environmentally friendly private cars. Another incentive scheme was launched on April 1, 2008 to encourage the use of environmentally friendly commercial vehicles. The incentive scheme for the early replacement of pre-Euro and Euro 1 diesel commercial vehicles ended on March 31, 2010. As some vehicle suppliers are not able to supply compliant new commercial vehicles to those owners who have placed an order for the new vehicles within the incentive period in time for registration, the Government introduced a special arrangement for them to retain their eligibility for the grant until March 31, 2011. To improve roadside air quality further, the Government offers a one-off grant to owners of Euro Il diesel commercial vehicles to encourage them to replace their vehicles with new ones from July 1, 2010 for a period of 36 months.
The Government is also promoting the use of electric vehicles (EV) in Hong Kong. The exemption of the First Registration Tax for electric vehicles has been extended to May 2014. A steering committee has been set up under the leadership of the Financial Secretary to make recommendations on strategy and specific measures to promote the use of electric vehicles. Three EV models, including EuAuto 'MyCar', Mitsubishi 'i-MiEV' and Tesla 'Roadster', have already been launched in the Hong Kong retail market. Nissan has also agreed to advance the supply of their EVs, 'LEAF', to Hong Kong. It will set aside 200 vehicles in the first batch of production of 'LEAF' for supply to corporate users in Hong Kong. Subject to market response, this batch of EVs is expected to arrive in Hong Kong in February to April 2011 at the earliest.