ENG-2009 — Page 342

274 The Environment

deciding on how best to update the Air Quality Objectives and take forward the necessary improvement measures to achieve the proposed new objectives.

Air pollution is a cause of public concern, especially when the emission sources are near homes. In 2009, the department handled some 11 100 complaints of air pollution, of which some 5 000 were about vehicle emissions, and issued about 1 300 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 2009, the concentrations of RSP, SO2 and NOx at roadsides, fell by 33 per cent, 48 per cent and 31 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 are now running on liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and over 60 per cent of public light buses are 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 environment- friendly private cars. Another incentive scheme was launched on April 1, 2008 to encourage the use of environment-friendly commercial vehicles.

The Government is also actively promoting the use of electric vehicles 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. The Government signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Mitsubishi and Nissan Motor in February and April respectively to promote the use of electric vehicles. The Government also conducted trials on Mitsubishi's electric vehicle, 'i-MiEV', and BYD's dual mode hybrid vehicle 'F3DM'. The first batch of 'i-MiEV' will be launched progressively on the global market before April 2010. The Government has procured 10 units in this batch for deployment in different bureaux and departments.

To encourage the supply and use of Euro V diesel, the Government waived the fuel tax for Euro V diesel on July 14, 2008. Euro V diesel is now available at all petrol filling stations in Hong Kong. The Government aims to tighten the standards of motor vehicle diesel and unleaded petrol to Euro V specifications in 2010.