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April, 2008:

Carbon Caps For Power Plants Mean High Bills

Cheung Chi-fai – SCMP – Updated on Apr 11, 2008

Electricity tariffs might go up by as much as a third if power suppliers are to cut their carbon emissions significantly, a government source has hinted.

The rough estimate was revealed to the South China Morning Post yesterday as lawmakers and green groups were pressing the government to make carbon dioxide a statutory air pollutant, and set carbon caps for power plants.

Officials have made it clear that any such a move is not imminent but could not be ruled out in the future.

The source said power-station carbon emissions could be lowered if natural gas was made the dominant fuel, but whether it should be achieved “at all costs” was subject to further debate.

The fuel mix could change, he said, and “the remaining two options are either retrofitting [existing plants with technology that cuts carbon emissions] or emissions trading”.

The source did not say exactly what emissions reduction a 30 per cent rise in power fees would achieve.

At the first scrutiny of a proposed amendment to the Air Pollution Control Ordinance yesterday, legislators from major parties asked why officials had failed to take the opportunity to regulate carbon emissions in the bill. The amendment is aimed at including in the bill statutory backing for emissions caps on power plants in relation to three air pollutants that have a direct impact on the health of the population.

It also spells out the general rules of emissions trading in case power firms fail to meet caps.

Lawmaker Alan Leong Kah-kit, of the Civic Party, said it would do no harm if a carbon cap were imposed on power plants even if it were frozen until the government felt comfortable about tightening it.

“At least we can cap the carbon emissions at existing levels and ensure that the power plants will not do worse than that,” he said.

Benny Wong Yiu-kam, the assistant director of environmental protection, said at the meeting that electricity costs could see sharp increases if the power companies were asked to scrap their coal-fired power stations and replace them with gas-fired plants.

He said gas prices had increased greatly in recent years.

Greenpeace activist Frances Yeung Hoi-shan said the cost for cutting power-plant carbon output might not be as high as officials claimed.

She said power plants could use a mix of strategies simultaneously – energy conservation, emissions trading, use of renewable energy and more use of natural gas.

Not Convinced By Government Claims Over Pollution Battle

Updated on Apr 29, 2008 – SCMP

Edwin Lau Che-feng, of Friends of the Earth, is right to publicly discount the government’s recent self-praise regarding its “cost” of environmental improvements in the transport sector for this city (“War on dirty vehicles has cost HK$10b in past eight years”, April 24).

We should not feel comforted by these figures. In fact, the government has done little for us in the past five years. What it has done, however, is subsidise the transport industry greatly, at a cost to all of us.

Without “sticks”, or penalties for making improvements, the government’s incentives for “voluntary” conversions of old diesel vehicles will hardly make a difference. To date, we still have more than 40 per cent of the local minibuses with old diesel engines, because the incentives and penalties are not enough to have them change. We still have more than 6,000 pre-Euro-II buses on our streets and only now is the government considering taking the extremely dirty ones out of the main urban areas. In fact, the government has given them another 10 years to operate on our roads with no mandates of improved emission technology. Out of the “cost” of HK$10 billion, a magical HK$8.8 billion of this is “forgone” revenue from diesel concessions. This is contrary to many countries which impose diesel taxes and use that revenue for the advancement of clean technologies and fuels. Clean diesel brings little benefit to the more than 70,000 pre-Euro-III diesel vehicles plying our streets, because their engines are not efficient enough to get the full impact of the clean diesel being introduced. We are being manipulated into thinking this is good for us. This “HK$8.8 billion” has not even been spent.

Had it been spent, it would amount to under HK$40 per person per year used for environmental improvements – hardly enough to change our air. Instead, each one of us is paying the “cost” of the government’s inactions and its subsidies to the transport industry that come with this government-supported pollution. This includes developed-world-beating asthma rates and constricted property prices. When will a hero from the government emerge to figure all of these issues out?

Douglas Woodring, Mid-Levels

Green Week – Institute of Vocational Education

Green week – April 2008 – IVE School (Institute of Vocational Education)

Deadly Effects Of Pollution On Lungs

Jerome Watson – SCMP – Updated on Apr 28, 2008

Even short-term exposure to heavy smog for as little as 24 hours is clearly linked to premature deaths, says the US National Academy of Sciences in a report based on a review of health studies. The risk is probably higher for long-term chronic exposure, but further studies are needed, concludes the 13-member panel. However, there is “strong evidence that short-term exposure … can exacerbate lung conditions, causing illness and hospitalisation and can potentially lead to death”, AP reports.

Vanishing Sea Fisheries Threaten Food Security

Agence France-Presse in Hanoi – Updated on Apr 12, 2008

The food security of millions of people is at risk because overfishing, climate change and pollution are inflicting massive damage on the world’s oceans, marine scientists have warned.

The two-thirds of the planet covered by seas provided one-fifth of the world’s protein – but 75 per cent of fish stocks were now fully exploited or depleted, a Hanoi conference that ended yesterday was told.

Warming seas were bleaching corals, feeding algal blooms and changing ocean currents that affected the weather, and rising sea levels could in future threaten coastal areas from Bangladesh to New York, experts said.

“People think the ocean is a place apart,” World Ocean Observatory head Peter Neill said. “In fact, it’s the thing that connects us – through trade, transportation, natural systems, weather patterns and everything we depend on for survival.”

Marine ecosystems and food security were key concerns at the Global Conference on Oceans, Coasts, and Islands, an international meeting of hundreds of experts from governments, environmental groups and universities.

“There is a race to fish, but in wild-capture fisheries right now we can catch no more,” said Steven Murawski, fisheries chief science adviser at the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

“We catch 100 million metric tonnes per year, and that’s been very flat globally. Our only hope is if we conserve and rebuild stocks,” he said, adding that sustainable aquaculture could help make up the shortfall.

The plunder was risking long-term sustainability with “too many fishing boats taking too many fish and not allowing the stocks to regenerate”, Conservation International’s Frazer McGilvray said.

“Once the oceans are gone, we’re gone. The oceans sustain the planet.”

The world had already seen the effects of overfishing, experts said. North Atlantic cod fisheries collapsed in the 1990s, and anchovies previously disappeared off Chile, herring off Iceland and sardines off California.

Sixty-four per cent of ocean areas fall outside national jurisdictions, making it difficult to reach international consensus or to stop illegal fishing – a growing concern as hi-tech ships scour the high seas.

“It’s the Wild West. It’s a very small number of boats, but the technology allows them to take enormous amounts of fish,” Mr Neill said.

“They take only the high commercial product and they throw the bycatch overboard. The waste is extraordinary.”

Marine life was also being harmed by climate change, Mr Murawski said. “We’ve seen that fish populations go up and down with variations in the climate,” he said. “Increasingly, we are starting to see long-term change affect the productivity, the distributions, the migrations.”

The trend was speeding up, he said. “Our forecasts are wrong. The melt-off is much faster than has been forecast in the models.”

Meanwhile, land-based pollution put heavy strain on oceans, the UN Environment Programme’s Ellik Adler said.

“Rivers of untreated sewage, factories, refineries, oil industry discharge their effluent into the marine environment, and this causes huge damage,” he said. “Marine pollution has no political borders.”

There were few easy fixes, experts said, but one initiative now being considered was setting up a global network of marine protected areas.

“You’ve got to get agreements between countries,” said consultant Sue Wells, who has worked in coastal East Africa. “Some developed countries have already closed some areas, and most coastal countries are now considering it.”

Satellites could monitor no-catch areas, she said, while inspiration could come from South Pacific fishing communities.

“They have taboo areas, coral reef sanctuaries, where fish would be saved for bad weather periods or major festivals and feast,” she said. “They know if they leave an area and don’t fish there, they’ll have much better stocks.”

It was a view that had been lost in modern times, she said, where the common view was “if I don’t go and fish it, someone else will”.

Government Go Ahead for Ban On Idling Engines

Government to go ahead with controversial bid to force drivers to switch off vehicles

Liz Heron and Zoe Mak – Updated on Apr 27, 2008 – SCMP

The government has confirmed it will push ahead with a ban on idling engines and says most of the 1,500 submissions received from the public in a five-month consultation supported the idea.

But opponents of the legislation are gearing up for a fight over the scope of the ban. Groups representing taxi and minibus drivers are demanding they be exempt. Green groups are calling on the government not to give in to their demands.

A spokesman for the Environmental Protection Department said the bill would be introduced to the Legislative Council late this year or early next year. It would provide for fines for drivers who leave their engines running and so contribute to air pollution.

The decision follows 40 meetings with interested parties, including transport trade associations, vehicle suppliers, the Heung Yee Kuk – which represents the traditional New Territories interests – and legislators. Most supported a ban.

“We will formulate a widely supported regulatory framework,” he said. “Our plan is to introduce our legislative proposal to the Legislative Council in 2008 to 2009.”

The ban would cover all parts of Hong Kong and all vehicles except those used for emergency response and other special duties, and those with passengers alighting or boarding. The first two taxis or light buses in a queue would also be spared the ban, which would be enforced by about 200 traffic wardens, with offenders facing a HK$320 fine.

Transport trade associations having already lodged scores of objections and demanded exemptions for various types of vehicle.

At special meetings of Legco’s environmental affairs panel, at least seven associations called for taxis to be exempted, while other trade groups demanded exemptions for public light buses, trucks and buses.

“No taxi drivers agree with this,” said Leung Siu-cheong, of the Taxi Operators Association.

“We are now using liquid petroleum gas for our vehicles and switching the air-conditioning on and off would do no good to the driver. We need to provide our passengers with a comfortable journey.”

Lai Ming-hung, of the Taxi and Public Light Bus Concern Group, said the exemption for queuing vehicles would be unworkable for red minibuses because they do not have assigned stops and buses for different destinations queue together.

Mr Lai said taxis would respond to the queuing rules by driving around the block instead of waiting at a stand, which would only create more congestion and air pollution.

Civic Party legislator Audrey Eu Yuet-mee, the Legco panel’s chairwoman, said: “I don’t think you can exempt a specific category of vehicles. But when it comes to implementation, you will need some kind of allowances, considerations and common sense.”

Amy Ng Yuk-man, of campaign group Clear the Air, said: “If you exempt taxis, you are going to have to exempt buses and minibuses and tour buses. The list goes on.”

Edwin Lau Che-feng, director of Friends of the Earth Hong Kong, said: “The government should not expand the exemptions to further categories of vehicle. If there are more exemptions, the legislation will become ineffective. It needs to be across the board, otherwise motorists will question why one person has to comply with the ban while another does not.”

Roadside Air Pollution More Serious This Year

Liz Heron – SCMP – Updated on Apr 27, 2008

Air pollution recorded at roadside stations was at very high levels for 10.69 per cent of the time in the first quarter of this year – up from 6.48 per cent in the same period last year.

Comparable readings in the medium range fell from 7.17 per cent to 4.29 per cent – with no readings in the low range for either quarter. High levels continued to prevail at more than 85 per cent of the time.

General stations also recorded higher pollution levels, with readings in the high range up from 51.77 per cent to 70.53 per cent of the period and very high readings up from 0.16 per cent to 0.37 per cent.

At very high readings of 101 to 200 on the air pollution index, people with heart or respiratory conditions are advised not to do strenuous outdoor exercise. The high range is from 51 to 100 and the medium range from 26 to 50.

The first quarter also saw hours of reduced visibility – an indicator of particulates or dust in the air – increase by 46.4 per cent to 448 at the Observatory in Tsim Sha Tsui, and at the airport by 11.6 per cent to 807, compared to the same period last year.

Edwin Lau Che-feng, director of Friends of the Earth Hong Kong, said the figures showed that “air pollution in Hong Kong is on a rising trend – and we are using an outdated standard of environmental monitoring. More stringent measures to control air pollution are needed”.

“To have a situation where the roadside API is high or very high for more than 95 per cent of the time should not be acceptable to any person in this wealthy, developed city.”

Amy Ng Yuk-man, of campaign group Clear the Air, said: “These figures show that the government has not yet done enough to reduce air pollution. “The government needs to do more in terms of the power plants, with transportation and also marine pollution.”

But a spokesman for the Environmental Protection Department said: “In the long run, air quality is primarily affected by emission sources. However, over a short period, say a few days to a few months, air quality can also be significantly affected by meteorological conditions apart from emissions.

“Scientifically, it is not appropriate to gauge air-quality change or the effectiveness of improvement measures by selecting air quality data in a few months and comparing them with the same months of other years.

“Our measurements show that the annual average air-pollution concentrations in 2007 are in general comparable to 2005 and 2006 and better than 2004.”

Battle Lines Drawn In Idling Engines Row

Government to go ahead with controversial bid to force drivers to switch off vehicles

Liz Heron and Zoe Mak – SCMP – Updated on Apr 27, 2008

The government has confirmed it will push ahead with a ban on idling engines and says most of the 1,500 submissions received from the public in a five-month consultation supported the idea.

But opponents of the legislation are gearing up for a fight over the scope of the ban. Groups representing taxi and minibus drivers are demanding they be exempt. Green groups are calling on the government not to give in to their demands.

A spokesman for the Environmental Protection Department said the bill would be introduced to the Legislative Council late this year or early next year. It would provide for fines for drivers who leave their engines running and so contribute to air pollution.

The decision follows 40 meetings with interested parties, including transport trade associations, vehicle suppliers, the Heung Yee Kuk – which represents the traditional New Territories interests – and legislators. Most supported a ban.

“We will formulate a widely supported regulatory framework,” he said. “Our plan is to introduce our legislative proposal to the Legislative Council in 2008 to 2009.”

The ban would cover all parts of Hong Kong and all vehicles except those used for emergency response and other special duties, and those with passengers alighting or boarding. The first two taxis or light buses in a queue would also be spared the ban, which would be enforced by about 200 traffic wardens, with offenders facing a HK$320 fine.

Transport trade associations having already lodged scores of objections and demanded exemptions for various types of vehicle.

At special meetings of Legco’s environmental affairs panel, at least seven associations called for taxis to be exempted, while other trade groups demanded exemptions for public light buses, trucks and buses.

“No taxi drivers agree with this,” said Leung Siu-cheong, of the Taxi Operators Association.

“We are now using liquid petroleum gas for our vehicles and switching the air-conditioning on and off would do no good to the driver. We need to provide our passengers with a comfortable journey.”

Lai Ming-hung, of the Taxi and Public Light Bus Concern Group, said the exemption for queuing vehicles would be unworkable for red minibuses because they do not have assigned stops and buses for different destinations queue together.

Mr Lai said taxis would respond to the queuing rules by driving around the block instead of waiting at a stand, which would only create more congestion and air pollution.

Civic Party legislator Audrey Eu Yuet-mee, the Legco panel’s chairwoman, said: “I don’t think you can exempt a specific category of vehicles. But when it comes to implementation, you will need some kind of allowances, considerations and common sense.”

Amy Ng Yuk-man, of campaign group Clear the Air, said: “If you exempt taxis, you are going to have to exempt buses and minibuses and tour buses. The list goes on.”

Edwin Lau Che-feng, director of Friends of the Earth Hong Kong, said: “The government should not expand the exemptions to further categories of vehicle. If there are more exemptions, the legislation will become ineffective. It needs to be across the board, otherwise motorists will question why one person has to comply with the ban while another does not.”

Banning Idling Engines Will Make A Difference

Updated on Apr 27, 2008 – SCMP

The government’s decision to press ahead with legislation against idling engines is a welcome – although long overdue – step in the battle against air pollution.

Now officials must ensure that the law is introduced in good time and that it contains measures that will prove effective in curbing a practice which wastes energy and is increasingly seen as a form of antisocial behaviour.

Even before the recent public consultation it was clear there was strong public support for a statutory ban on motorists keeping engines running when their vehicles are stationary. Now that the results of the consultation confirm the public backing for the move, the Environmental Protection Department has all the support it needs to go ahead. Officials say the law should be enacted by next year at the latest. It certainly should not take longer than that.

Having taken such a long time to get to this stage, the focus must be on ensuring that the law is not watered down and rendered ineffective by exemptions intended to placate various interest groups – notably the transport sector.

Representatives of truck, taxi and minibus drivers have in the past argued against a ban and succeeded in stalling its introduction. The government went along, arguing that education was more effective than legislation. Now that public momentum is building towards introducing tougher measures, the trade groups are demanding that certain vehicles be exempted. Officials must not give in this time. The law must cover all types of vehicle, with the exception of emergency and special service vehicles such as those for the disabled and elderly. Furthermore, it must be adequately enforced.

It is hard to understand what is so difficult, and harmful to business, about turning a key to cut off an engine. Drivers will save on fuel, and the whole community will benefit from less pollution.

Specious reasons have been advanced, such as discomfort for passengers without constant air-conditioning and the ruinous effects on engines being turned on and off frequently. Drivers should not presume to speak for their passengers, most of whom would support the new law, if the government survey is anything to go by. Indeed, some of the trades’ more reasonable concerns have already been dealt with. For example, the first two taxis or minibuses in a queue will, it seems, be allowed to keep their engines running.

Vehicles are the second-largest source of air pollution in Hong Kong. Of all the measures being proposed to fight pollution, banning idling engines is the easiest and cheapest to achieve. It has the added benefit of being likely to change people’s behaviour if properly enforced. It can help increase awareness of the need for individuals to play their part in conserving energy and reducing air pollution. With a large public mandate, the new law will make a statement that the city is serious about cleaning up the environment.

Air pollution remains a serious problem in Hong Kong. Roadside monitoring stations recorded very high levels for about 11 per cent of the time in the first quarter of this year, up from 6.48 per cent of the time during the same period last year. General stations also saw higher pollution levels, with readings in the high range 70.5 per cent of the time, up from 51.7 per cent a year earlier. Banning idling engines will help make a difference but it will not solve our city’s air pollution problems. A wider range of measures is needed.

Tax Breaks At Hand For Green Factories

Environmental Protection Department

Businesses that implement environmentally-friendly facilities will get an accelerated tax deduction, a measure aimed at encouraging the business community to use them.

The proposal was contained in the Revenue Bill 2008 gazetted yesterday. Subject to the Legislative Council’s passing of the Bill, amendments will be made to the Inland Revenue Ordinance.

Eligible facilities include environmental protection machinery and environmental protection installations.

Environmental protection machinery includes low noise construction machinery or plants registered under the Quality Powered Mechanical Equipment system the Environmental Protection Department administers, as well as waste treatment, wastewater treatment and air-pollution control machinery, or a plant in compliance with the requirements under the department-administered ordinances.

The capital expenditure incurred on the provision of eligible machinery will qualify for a 100% deduction under profits tax in the year of purchase.

Environmental protection installations include renewable energy installations, such as solar photovoltaic installations, wind turbine installations and thermal waste treatment installations. Other eligible installations are the energy efficient building installations registered under the Hong Kong Energy Efficiency Registration Scheme for Buildings the Electrical & Mechanical Services Department administers.

The capital expenditure incurred on the construction of eligible installations will qualify for a 20% deduction under profits tax in each of the five consecutive years starting from the year of acquisition.

After the amendments to the IRO are enacted, taxpayers may claim the deductions in their profits-tax returns for 2008-09 and subsequent years of assessment.

A taxpayer who has owned and been using environmental protection machinery or installations before the proposal’s implementation proposal may elect to have the reduced value of the machinery under the depreciation allowance regime fully deducted in 2008-09. In the case of installations, the owner may have 20% of the residual value of the installations deducted in each of the five consecutive years starting from 2008-09.