ENG-2013 — Page 297

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The Environment

Government control measures target different emission sources and between 1997 and 2011, emissions of sulphur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxides (NOx), respirable suspended particulates (RSP) and volatile organic compounds (VOC) have dropped by 23 per cent to 61 per cent.

The EPD operates a range of controls under the Air Pollution Control Ordinance (APCO) and its subsidiary regulations, including licensing of some large industrial facilities and specific controls on fuel quality, furnace and chimney installations, dark smoke emissions, open burning, dust emissions from construction works, emissions from petrol filling stations, perchloroethylene emissions from dry-cleaning facilities, and VOC emissions from printing machines and the VOC contents in selected products. The APCO also bans the import and sale of the more dangerous types of asbestos, amosite and crocidolite. Moreover, anyone intending to remove asbestos must engage registered professionals, and submit asbestos investigation reports and plans to the department.

Power plants are a major source of emissions. To improve the local and regional air quality, the government issued Technical Memoranda in 2008, 2010 and 2012 to progressively tighten the emission caps on the power sector starting from 2010, 2015 and 2017 respectively. The emission caps for the three key pollutants from 2017 onwards will be 39 per cent to 59 per cent lower than the 2010 levels.

In 2013, the department handled some 12,300 complaints of air pollution and issued about 310 legal notices instructing offenders to abate air pollution.

Land Transport

Vehicle emissions are the major source of roadside air pollution. The government's policy is to apply the most stringent motor vehicle fuel and emission standards whenever they are practicable. Between 1999 and 2013, the concentrations of RSP, SO2 and NO, at roadsides, fell by 37 per cent, 59 per cent and 29 per cent respectively. Since June 2012, all newly registered vehicles are required to comply with the Euro V standards. Newly registered diesel private cars must meet emission standards comparable to those of petrol private cars as diesel vehicles emit more NOx than petrol vehicles, which is a major contributor to smog. To encourage the supply and use of Euro V diesel, the government waived the tax for Euro V diesel in July 2008. Motor vehicle diesel and unleaded petrol standards were tightened to Euro V specifications and statutory control of the quality of motor vehicle biodiesel was introduced in 2010.

Nearly all of Hong Kong's taxis and over 65 per cent of public light buses now run on liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). To encourage the use of environment-friendly vehicles with low emissions and high fuel efficiency, the First Registration Tax is reduced for buyers of newly registered environment-friendly vehicles. An incentive scheme to encourage early replacement of pre- Euro and Euro I diesel commercial vehicles ended in March 2010, and the government launched a similar scheme for Euro Il diesel commercial vehicles from July 2010 for a period of 36 months. In March 2011, the government set up a $300 million 'Pilot Green Transport Fund' to subsidise the public transport sectors, goods vehicle owners and non-profit making organisations to try out green and innovative transport technologies.

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