XN000022-1996-05-15 — Page 39

(a)

(b)

(c)

23 -

of the public response to the recommendations put forward in the consultation paper and the ratio between the views in favour of the DTP Scheme and those against it;

of the progress in collating the views submitted by the public in response to the consultation paper, and the date of making a formal announcement of the results of the consultation; and

whether it has considered shelving the proposed mandatory DTP Scheme?

Reply:

Mr President,

At the end of the consultation period on 31 December 1995, a total of 1 327 written submissions had been received. Of these, 1 250 are identical letters in four versions and 77 are submissions from organisations and individuals. Reactions to the proposed diesel to petrol scheme are mixed. Views were expressed on health and environment issues, on operating costs, and on implementation arrangements. All the identical letters and about two-thirds of the submissions are opposed to the scheme. About one-third are in support.

We are re-examining the proposals in the light of the divergent views that have been expressed in the written submissions, and in the light of comments made by Members of the Legislative Council during the Motion Debate on this issue on 13 December 1995. A formal report on the consultation exercise will be published shortly. The Administration is working on a paper to set out the options for the control of emissions from diesel vehicles and their pros and cons and hope to be able to discuss it with the relevant Panels of the Legislative Council soon.

We have not as yet considered shelving the scheme because we remain of the view that only a substantial reduction of diesel vehicles can tackle the serious problem of particulate pollution, and that the proposed diesel to petrol scheme is the most effective way to do this. However, in the light of comments received, we are exploring alternative measures to reduce emissions from diesel vehicles to see if such measures could sufficiently improve air quality to safeguard public health. These will be covered in the options paper mentioned above.

End