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Air Pollution

Central Worst Affected As Pollution Soars

Dec 7th, 2007
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Central worst affected as pollution soars

Regina Leung SCMP

Updated on Dec 07, 2007

Pollution, trapped by light winds and hot weather, is expected to remain until wind speeds pick up later in the week.

Smoggy weather and light wind ushered the air pollution index (API) to over 100 in several areas of Hong Kong on Friday, including Central, Causeway Bay and Mong Kok.

Based on roadside station readings, Central recorded the highest API level of 145, compared to 133 in Causeway Bay and 122 in Mongkok.

In the general station readings, Yuen Long, Tung Chung, Tai Po, Central and Western districts also recorded API levels over 100.

Pollutants are trapped under the light wind, and the smoggy conditions favour the photo-chemical formation of ozone in the region, resulting in elevated ozone levels, a spokesman at the environmental department said.

When the level passes 100, the environmental department says people with heart or respiratory illnesses should avoid prolonged stays in areas with heavy traffic. Those who must travel to such congested areas are advised to reduce physical activity.

Environmental Protection Department Emission Figures

Dec 7th, 2007
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 This letter was sent to the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) by Jim Middleton, a member of Clear The Air, in relation to the misleading figures quoted on the EPD website regarding per capita CO2 emissions. The letter was sent on the 7th of December.

Dear [EPD],

The Environmental Protection Department (EPD) chooses to disguise emission figures by using a per capita emission for CO2 and then comparing the rest of the world to show Hong Kong in favorable light.

That is ridiculous.

http://www.epd.gov.hk/epd/english/environmentinhk/air/data/emission_inve.html

The Hong Kong population has a cocoon of only 154.4 m2 of space each in which to breathe the C02 and pollutants emitted. The above site shows Greenhouse weighted emissions at 6.5 tonnes per capita of Hong Kong population in 2006.

That is 42 kgs emissions per m2 per Hong Kong person per year.

You state Hong Kong emissions are lower than those developed countries shown below.

The EPD report below lists Australia at 27 tonnes emissions per capita.

In Australia each person has 374,800m2 of space compared to Hong Kong’s 154.4 m2 each.

That is 0.072 kgs emissions per m2 per Australian person per year.

I suggest the Government gets real on this misleading method of presenting Hong Kong’s greenhouse emissions.

regards

James Middleton

Mr. Know-It-All: Breathing in China

Nov 27th, 2007
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WIRED MAGAZINE: ISSUE 15.12 published on the 27th of November 2007:

I’m about to travel to Shenzhen on business, and I’m concerned about the city’s atrocious pollution. Will I offend my Chinese hosts if I wear a dust mask?

Not at all, since many natives have adopted this practice, too — though it’s generally more popular among bicyclists than pedestrians. Sure, a few folks might think you have some horrendous disease and thus refuse to sit next to you on the bus. But most Shenzhen residents will realize that you’re only trying to protect your health. Just don’t delude yourself into thinking a skimpy mask of the sort favored by many Chinese urbanites will do much good. “Cheap surgical masks give a false sense of security,” says Christian Masset, chair of the antipollution organization Clear the Air Hong Kong, who contends that those filters catch few harmful particles. He recommends a higher-quality mask; many travelers opt for ones with replaceable charcoal filters. A little bulky and unsightly perhaps, but your lungs will thank you.

China’s Air Quality and the Olympics

Nov 26th, 2007
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Mara Hvistendahl – November 26, 2007 12:44 PM – Worldchanging

As an amateur runner in Shanghai’s half-marathon on Sunday, I wasn’t overly concerned with my time. But what was I doing to my lungs?

There’s reason to worry: In August, International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge warned that endurance events at next summer’s Beijing Olympics might have to be postponed because of air pollution. And in October, a United Nations Environment Program report cast more doubt on the prospects for cleaning up the city in time for the Games. In some cases, the report found, Beijing pollution levels are more than three times the safe limits set by the World Health Organization.

In 2000, Beijing launched its ambitious Olympic bid, promising to go green in exchange for the right to host the Games. That same year, I spent my mornings as a foreign student jogging along a Beijing canal — and passed most of the summer with a chest cold. I often wondered whether the pollution canceled out the health benefits of a run.

If I had looked into it at the time, I would have learned that it did, and then some. Competing in endurance sports in polluted cities is, most experts agree, a bad idea. The short-term health effects are well-documented. Here’s Germany’s Der Spiegel, from a good article on pollution in Beijing:

Endurance athletes spend hours performing at peak levels in the open air, inhaling up to 150 liters of air a minute — more than 10 times as much as a sedentary office worker. Ozone and fine dust can cause inflammation that requires treatment with asthma and anti-inflammatory drugs.

Exposure to pollution during exercise may also cause long-term health damage, heightening, for example, the risk of heart attack.

In 2001, after I left Beijing, the city won the Olympic bid, and embarked on a pollution control program. Over the next five years, the UNEP report found, levels of major pollutants like sulfur dioxide and carbon monoxide dropped. The report was positive about other efforts to green the Olympics in areas such as waste management, green space, and clean transport. But it singled out air pollution as an ongoing problem, pointing out that in 2006 pollutant levels started to increase again. And pollution from neighboring cities and provinces is still a big problem, according to findings published earlier this year in the journal Atmospheric Environment.

Shanghai is only around two-thirds as polluted as Beijing. But to put that into perspective, Shanghainese go to Hong Kong to enjoy clean air — and Hong Kong air contains around 30 percent more particulates than air in Los Angeles, America’s most polluted city. At the Hong Kong marathon last February, one man died and 20 people were hospitalized. The event was held when the air pollution index was at 150 — a number the city classifies as a “very high” level, at which healthy, sedentary people are warned to take care when breathing the air. In Shanghai, the average API hovers in the “severe” 200s.

For Sunday’s race, the weather in Shanghai was, thankfully, clear (although blue skies aren’t an indication that air in China is safe to breathe). But because of the route organizers chose, the race was more unbearable than it needed to be. We wound through industrial areas and alongside highways thick with mid-morning traffic. For a quarter mile, I trailed a slow-moving bus, breathing in exhaust as workers watched from the windows (check out a similar scene here). Runners of the full marathon had it even worse – for the final 13 miles, they snaked back and forth through dirty Minhang district.

China routinely closes major roads and restricts traffics during international conferences and visits by foreign dignitaries. For the marathon, organizers took over a major stadium, hired fleets of buses to transport runners’ possessions to the finish line, and mobilized 26 miles’ worth of elderly neighborhood committee members, who performed choreographed routines in matching sweatsuits on the sidelines. Central Shanghai also encompasses the new-build, relatively clean island of Pudong, where many runners train. So it’s unclear why Shanghai officials would sign off on such a route. It’s possible they don’t know what they’re doing. But more likely — and more alarmingly — they know and don’t care.

This sort of planning is earning Chinese marathons a bad reputation. After last year’s Shanghai race, one runner posted on an athletes’ bulletin board: “There were vehicles running in the opposite direction, and since all the intersections were closed for the runners, the vehicles piled up on the opposite side of the road, emitting exhaust, making you feel like running in the middle of a downtown congestion…. After all being said and done, I won’t run Shanghai again due to the pollution.”

This year’s race went off with few major incidents. I finished in 1:53. But I worry about the long-term effects of running distance events in China. My bus encounter certainly diminished the fun of the race. It is this impression that China most needs to change — to show that it genuinely cares about athletes’ health, not just about keeping its Olympic bid.

Diesel Air Pollution Linked To Heart Attack And Stroke

Nov 9th, 2007
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Diesel Air Pollution Linked To Heart Attack And Stroke In Healthy Men

UK and Swedish researchers found that diesel fumes from road vehicles increased blood clots and platelets in healthy volunteers. These are symptoms closely linked to increased risk of heart attack and stroke.

The researchers reported the results of a small study to a meeting of the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2007 held in Orlando, Florida, earlier this week.

Previous observational and epidemiological studies have also shown a close link between exposure to traffic pollution and heart attack, said study lead author Dr Andrew Lucking, who is a cardiology fellow at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, UK.

“This study shows that when a person is exposed to relatively high levels of diesel exhaust for a short time, the blood is more likely to clot. This could lead to a blocked vessel resulting in heart attack or stroke,” said Lucking.

Lucking and colleague carried out a double blind, randomized cross-over study on 20 healthy male participatns aged from 21 to 44. Using a specially designed exposure chamber, the men were separately exposed to filtered air (this was the control) and then to 300 mg per cubic metre (mcg/m3) of diesel exhaust fumes, which is roughly the concentration you breathe in while standing by a busy street.

The researchers measured clot formation, blood coagulation, platelet activity and markers of inflammation by attaching each participant to a perfusion chamber and allowing a small amount of blood to pass through it. This was done 2 hours after exposure and then again 6 hours after exposure.

Clot formation was assessed by passing the blood through a special shear chamber that simulates the types of pressure the blood would be under in blood vessels. The researchers tested the blood at high shear and low shear.

Platelet activation was assessed by measuring the number of platelets associated with white blood cells. When platelets are activated they stick to white blood cells like neutrophils and monocytes and form clumps, thereby playing a key role in the formation of blood clots.

The results showed that:

  • Breathing diesel fumes increased clot formation in the low shear chamber by 24.2 per cent compared to breathing filtered air.
  • In the high shear chamber the increase in clot formation from diesel fumes was 19.1 per cent.
  • These effects were observed at both 2 and 6 hours after exposure to diesel fumes.
  • Breathing diesel fumes increased platelet-neutrophil aggregates from 6.5 to 9.2 per cent 2 hours after exposure.
  • It also increased platelet-monocyte aggregates from 21 per cent to 25 per cent 2 hours after exposure.
  • But at 6 hours after exposure the platelet activation increases due to diesel fumes were not statistically significant.

Lucking said: “High levels of traffic pollution are known to increase the risk of heart attack in the immediate hours or days after exposure.”

He said this study showed a “potential mechanism that could link exposure to traffic-derived air pollution with acute heart attack.”

Although these results apply to diesel engine fumes, it’s not clear whether gasoline powered engines would have the same effect, said the researchers. Diesel fumes contain a much higher concentration of very fine particles, they said.

Diesel engines are on the rise because they offer superior fuel economy, but, as Lucking explained:

“While diesel engines burn more efficiently, they also put more fine particulate matter into the air.”

The researchers said while exercise was good for people with cardiovascular disease, they would not recommend they exercise near traffic congestion.

The UK and Swedish team will be working together on the next step, which is to test the effectiveness of the particle traps fitted to diesel engines to reduce exhaust particles.

“Exposure to air pollution clearly is detrimental and we must look at ways to reduce pollution in the environment,” said Lucking.

An earlier study published in the 13th September issue of the NEJM , also by UK and Swedish researchers, showed that men with coronary heart disease who inhaled diesel fumes experienced a three fold increase in stress on the heart.

Click here for the American Heart Association.

Click here for our report of the September NEJM article on the effect of diesel fumes on men with coronary heart disease.

Written by: Catharine Paddock
Source: Medical News Today

Engine idlers may get warnings

Nov 3rd, 2007
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Published in Environment on news.gov.hk on November 3rd 2007:

Engine idlers may get warnings

Along with issuing fixed-penalty tickets to drivers who do not switch off their idling vehicle’s engine, the Government is considering issuing warning letters to these drivers upon receiving public complaints, Deputy Director of Environmental Protection Carlson Chan says.

Speaking on a radio talk show today Mr Chan said complaints are often received from the public about pollution caused by drivers that leave their engines running while their vehicle is stopped, and is studying ways to curb the problem.

He agreed that certain old turbo engine models require an idling time before being switched off or their lifespan will be shortened. The Government is consulting local vehicle importers to investigate which models should be granted exemption.

The Government has launched a five-month public consultation on its proposal to ban idling vehicle engines. It is aimed for a mid-2009 implementation.

Mr Chan said a total ban is necessary because air and noise pollution caused by idling vehicles are a nuisance regardless of place and time.

Drivers in Toronto can still switch on engines when their car is stopped if the temperature is below five degrees Celsius or over 27. Mr Chan said the Government open to similar suggestions.

The Government will consult District Councils in the coming five-months, but he said it does not want to add too many exemptions on top of those in the consultation document, as they may pose many difficulties for enforcement.

Mr Chan said the ban will greatly improve pollution on the roads and the rationale is to raise public concern and involvement in environmental protection.

Cities for Climate Protection

Oct 16th, 2007
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The Cities for Climate Protection (CCP) program

A valued member of Clear The Air has expressed his concern over the fact that Hong Kong has not signed up to be part of the Cities for Climate Protection (CCP) program. He has done so by preparing the following summary of what the CCP is as well as sending letters to various Government Departments expressing his view and opinion about the program. Below is his summary on the CCP followed by the letters he has sent and the replies he has recieved.

The Hong Kong SAR and the Cities for Climate Protection (CCP) program

An Initiative to Improve the Air Quality (and Address the City’s Global Climate Change Obligations)

The Cities for Climate Protection (CCP) program is an initiative of the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI). The ICLEI is an international association of local and regional government organisations that have made a commitment to sustainable development. It was established in 1990 when more than 200 local government representatives from 42 countries met at the United Nations in New York.

The CCP program was subsequently established in 1993 – also at a meeting in the UN. The CCP program builds on the existing government structures and facilities to institutionalise reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, resulting in a range of social, economic and environmental benefits.

Since its inception in 1993 the CCP program has grown to include more than 700 cities and local governments around the world.

THE CITIES FOR CLIMATE PROTECTION PROGRAM

On joining the CCP program each city commits to:-

  • Develop a ‘local action plan’,
  • Significantly reduce energy use and emissions associated with municipally-owned buildings and vehicles,
  • Change public behaviour through information, advice, awareness raising, promotion and training,
  • Join strategic procurement initiatives promoting cost effective CO2 reduction technologies,
  • Seek a partnership with a municipality in the developing countries or in emerging economies (Cities for Climate Protection http://www.iclei.org/index.php?id=1651)

To help cities achieve their objectives the ICLEI provides specific tools, publications and technical assistance, including dedicated software programs.

The CCP program itself is divided into five parts:-

  • Conduct a baseline emissions inventory and forecast – the inventory and forecast provide a benchmark against which the city can measure its progress,
  • Set an emissions reduction target for the year – helps fosters political will and creates a framework for the action plan,
  • Develop an action plan – including policies and measures for both direct and indirect reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, financing mechanisms, responsibilities of departments and staff, etc.,
  • Implement policies and measures – such as energy efficiency improvements to buildings and water treatment, use of renewable power, reduction and recycling of waste, methane recovery from landfills, street light retrofits, etc.,
  • Monitoring and verification of results – provides feedback to modify and improve the action plan. It also provides data for the general public, many of whom are increasingly interested in concrete results for climate change mitigation measures. (Cities for Climate Protection http://www.iclei.org/index.php?id=810)

BENEFITS OF THE CCP PROGRAM FOR HONG KONG:-

  • A reduction in the urban heat island effect,
  • A reduction in low level smog formation,
  • Meeting of Hong Kong’s global obligations with regard to greenhouse gas emissions,
  • Regional benefits – economic and environmental,
  • A reduction in Hong Kong’s contribution to the Asian atmospheric brown cloud.

Hong Kong is facing problems relating to air pollution and the urban heat island effect. The city’s air pollution problem is linked to global climate change through the burning of fossil fuels.

Control of the HKSAR’s air pollution (and greenhouse gas emissions) requires a coherent coordinated plan. The CCP program is an established world wide program providing a range of social, economic and environmental benefits. The program primarily targets greenhouse gas emissions but in doing so it will help to address the Hong Kong’s air pollution problem. It will also help to reduce the city’s increasing urban heat island effect.

Below is the letter sent out to Governmental Departments:

Hon Audrey Eu Yuet-mee,
Chairman Legco Panel on Environmental Affairs,
Room 601, Citibank Tower,
3 Garden Road,
Central,
Hong Kong.  

22nd September, 2007.

Dear Ms. Eu,

Hong Kong has been my home for the last 18 years. I originally trained as a zoologist, however, I am currently employed as a pilot by one of the airlines based here. As such, I am acutely aware of the deteriorating air quality in the HKSAR.

These days a flight into Hong Kong frequently encounters the Asian Atmospheric Brown Cloud (Asian ABC) while descending through the altitudes between about 12,000 to 18,000 feet. In the daytime, when flying clear of clouds, the ABC appears as a brown haze layer. It can also be detected in the aircraft cabin by a strong acrid smell. The ABC is composed of carbon particulates, volatile organic compounds and nitrogen oxides; all of which are the combustion products of coal, oil, natural gas and biomass. In the presence of sunlight a photochemical reaction also results in the formation of low level ozone.

In the final stages of an approach to land at Hong Kong International Airport the visibility can, on occasions, be severely reduced by low level atmospheric smog and/or haze. In extreme cases the visibility can reduce to as low as 1,200 metres, and were it not for the instrument landing systems installed at the airport, flights would be unable to land.

Hong Kong’s increasing air pollution problem is intimately linked to global climate change through the burning of fossil fuels. Recent research by The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and the Civic Exchange organisation has shown that in the year 2006 for just over half of the time (53% or 192 days), local pollution sources were the primary contributor to Hong Kong’s air pollution. Just over one third of the time (36% or 132 days) regional sources were the main contributor with the remainder (11% or 41 days) being classified as low pollution.

– In other words the HKSAR has a significant degree of control over the quality of its own air. –

The HKSAR needs to get involved with one of the city networks where people share their experiences and ideas on air pollution. The Cities for Climate Protection program (http://www.iclei.org/index.php?id=800) is an established global network providing a range of social, economic and environmental benefits. The program targets greenhouse gas emissions and in doing so will help to address the HKSAR’s air pollution problem and the city’s increasing urban heat island effect. Ultimately this will help to make Hong Kong a better place for people to live and work in and a more attractive place for businesses to invest in.

                                    Yours faithfully,

                                                                        Member of ‘Clear the Air’

cc Emily Lau Wai-hing, Deputy Cahirman, Panel on Environmental Affairs,
     Martin Lee Chu-ming, Member for Hong Kong Island,
     Sin Chung-kai, Member for Information Technology,
     Wong Yung-kan, Member for Agriculture and Fisheries,
     Lau Kong-wah, Member for the New Territories East,
     Miriam Lau Kin-yee, Member for Transport,
     Choy So-yuk, Member for Hong Kong Island,
     Lee Wing-tat, Member for the New Territories West,
     Jeffrey Lam Kin-fung, Member for Commercial,
     Tam Heung-man, Member for Accountancy.

 

This is the response recieved by the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce (HKGCC):

3 October 2007

Dear [Clear The Air Member],

Thank you for your letter addressed to the Chamber Chairman Dr Lily Chiang.

We agree with you that the HKSAR has a significant degree of control over the quality of its own air. Besides the Government, it is also very important for everyone to take part, including the business sector. I am pleased to tell you that some 600 organisations and companies have so far signed the Clean Air Charter, a business sector-wide environmental initiative being driven by Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce (HKGCC) and the Hong Kong Business Coalition on the Environment under Project CLEAR AIR. Among the signatories are the HKSAAR Government, all of the HKGCC General Committee members and all 28 foreign chambers in Hong Kong. The Project has been supported by a series of campaign activities to engage the government, business sector and the community in a collective effort to combat air pollution.

At the same time, despite Hong Kong’s comparatively small share in greenhouse gas emissions, as a cosmopolitan city, we have a part in contributing to the global effort on climate change. The HKGCC Environment Committee has recently formed a working group to seek ways to raise the awareness of the impact of climate change and help play a part in the government’s action plan in meeting out global obligations.

I am happy to copy your letter to the HKSAR Government, and enclose information of the Project CLEAN AIR for your reference.

Thank you very much.

Regards

Yours sincerely

Alex Fong
CEO

c.c. Mr Oscar Chow, Chairman of the Environment Committee, HKGCC
        Dr Andrew Thomson, Chief Executive Officer, Business Environment Council

 

And the response recieved from the Business Environment Council (BEC):

18th September 

Dear [Clear The Air Member],

Thank you for you letter dated 15th September to Andrew Thomson of the Business Environment Council (BEC).

We agree that HKSAR needs to get involved with one of the city networks where people share their experiences and ideas on air pollution. We are aware of the Cities for Climate Protection Programme (CCP) and the Business Environment Council is in the process of setting up a Climate Change Business Forum (CCBF) which will develop a local action plan to try and reduce energy use and emissions. As well as running workshops on behaviour change, and finance much needed research on understanding the local and PRD impacts.

We expect the CCBF to be up and running within this month and we will make sure that it hooks into initiatives such as the CCP.

Thank you again for your letter.

For further information in the CCBF please do not hesitate to contact me.

Yours sincerely,

Ciara Shannon
Climate Change Business Forum (CCBF)
Tel: 27843935

cc Dr. Lily Chiang, Chairman of the General Committee, Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce,
     Mr. Oscar Chow, Chairman of the Environment Committee, Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce,
     Ms. Gaby Oetterli, Corporate Social Responsibility, Business Environment Council

New Law Could Curb The Idlers

Oct 10th, 2007
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Published in the SCMP on the 10th of October 2007:

New Law Could Curb The Idlers

The reply from the commissioner of police (”Police willing to take action”, October 4) to Gareth Jones (”Idling engines add to pollution”, September 18) misses the point.

Choi Wong Fung-yee states that “Waiting [in certain areas] is allowed provided that the vehicle does not cause an obstruction.” The key is that, as the law currently stands, it is not illegal to leave your vehicle’s engine idling while waiting which means many vehicles are indiscriminately spewing out noxious fumes that add to Hong Kong’s pollution problem.

Perhaps the commissioner of police could tell us why the law still allows for idling engines? As we have proved with Clear The Air’s idling engine street patrols, most drivers are willing to switch off idling engines when reminded.

We have also found a significant number of vehicles that are idling, are also breaking a traffic law such as vacating the vehicle to deliver products, double parking (thus blocking traffic) or parking illegally.

Therefore the police should be more vigilant in regards to idling engines. We need a no-idling engine fixed penalty law enforced by the police to keep our streets safe and our air clean.

Amy Ng, Clear The Air

Clamp Down On Idling Engines, Greens Urge

Oct 10th, 2007
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Published in the SCMP on the 10th of October 2007:

Clamp Down On Idling Engines, Greens Urge

Green groups have urged the government to crack down on motorists who leave their engines idling while parked, saying this is a major contributing factor to Hong Kong’s air pollution problem.

Clear The Air and the Clean Air Action Group patrolled Mong Kok yesterday, where they say they saw at least 100 drivers who left their engines running.

Members of the two groups launched their patrols in Tung Choi Street and Fa Yuen Street from 11am to 5pm and renewed their call for a city wide ban on idling engines.

“There is no public consultation, no policy to tackle this issue. Our government has done nothing to curb the pollution from idling engines,” said Amy Ng Yuk-man, chairwoman of Clear The Air’s idling engine committee.

Ms Ng said vehicle and vessel emissions were responsible for most of Hong Kong’s locally produced air pollution.

Hong Kong Pollution Ownership

Jun 30th, 2006
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One thing is clear: It’s time to take ownership

In this article – the final in a four-part series on Hong Kong’s air pollution – Douglas Woodring, Associate for Civic Exchange offers solutions for ways in which Hong Kong manufacturers can help clear the air. “P2E2” is one effective program that gives guarantees to banks who can then lend to Hong Kong-based “Environmental Service Companies” (EESCOs) in order to supply environmental technology and services to factories in Guangdong. “The beauty of this program is that the factory pays nothing,” Woodring writes.

Imported Air – We Own Much of the Problem

In last month’s article, we learned that the poor fuel mix in Guangdong is a major contributor to our air problems. We now focus on the users of that fuel – the factories, which for better or worse, are largely owned by Hong Kong companies. So far, however, we have seen that these factories are not owning up to the extensive problems they are creating for us, as we end up importing the impacts of their poorly managed production processes.

Sources of air pollution in Guangdong include inefficient coal-fired power plants lacking effective emissions controls, growing vehicle fleets, heavy industry and the manufacturing sector. Many believe the view is wrong that Hong Kong can do nothing about our air imports, and to date, our side has failed to effectively tackle emission reduction on the part of Hong Kong-owned manufacturers.

In 2003, “manufacturing” accounted for 45 per cent of all public power consumption in Guangdong. Due to the shortfall in supply and transmission problems with Guangdong’s power grid, almost all of the factories in Guangdong developed alternate power sources which tend to be run on coal or poor quality fuel. In some cases, it is cheaper to run generators full time, rather than using the public grid at all, but in others, it is simply a necessity, which could change if and when the supply of power from the grid is greater than the increasing demand. One alarming fact is that the manufacturing sector’s consumption of coal was two thirds that of the power sector’s, increasing at a rate of 20 per cent from 2000 to 2004. Considering coal’s use for public electricity, as well as its direct use of coal, the manufacturing sector is responsible for 75 per cent of all coal used in Guangdong – most of which is not “clean” coal.

Similarly, manufacturing uses 90 per cent as much diesel in its generators as is used by the transportation sector – much of it with high sulphur content coming from smaller, unregulated refiners. To put this danger into perspective, California has just done a study that shows that 70 per cent of all health problems relating to air pollution come from diesel fuel (though remember that California does not have the wide use of coal that China has). These results should be a wake-up call to all of us in Hong Kong, where over 60 per cent of our locally created vehicle emissions come from our extensive diesel fleet.

The Clean Air Map is still Uncharted

The problem of addressing manufacturing air pollution in Guangdong is a difficult one. Things should improve somewhat by 2008 when the power grid increases overall supply (unless expansion of the manufacturing base outstrips this new supply, which has been the case in the past). Sources of cleaner fuel are generally not available, in part due to national fuel pricing controls and some sectors (textiles, paper, food and nonmetal mineral products) have shown a marked increase in direct coal use to augment the use of grid power. Despite the hope of cleaner fuels and increased public electricity supply, the near term prospects are not bright for the following reasons:

  • Coal will remain the major source of power generation and a major industrial fuel in Guangdong;
  • Those sub-sectors relying on coal or heavy fuel oil are likely to continue to self-generate because it is cheaper;
  • Constraints in the public power supply are not just in generation, but in transmission line capacity;
  • To initiate a large clean-up, higher quality fuels must be readily available, which is unlikely until price controls are eased;
  • Higher energy prices provide an incentive for manufacturers to switch to cheaper, dirtier fuels;
  • There is little hope that voluntary measures will result in worthwhile improvements. Stringent environmental mandates must be enforced on manufacturing;
  • Slow improvements in manufacturing emissions now will be compounded with an exponentially expanding Guangdong motor vehicle fleet.

Is there Blue Sky on the Horizon?

We know how to reduce pollutant emissions from within Hong Kong, but the fact that we have not done more to clean up our own act is a failure of political will to face up to the higher costs of implementing fundamental changes. Unfortunately, we have not come even so far as to seriously evaluate what the options are for making a major dent in our pollution imports. Guangdong’s rapidly increasing motor transport sector is likely to prove the most challenging to deal with in environmental terms, but at this point, manufacturing is the most important contributor to our air shed, and these issues can, and should be, quickly addressed through both cleaner fuel use and energy efficiency programs.

Normally, the most cost-effective first step in reducing air pollution is to upgrade the fuel being used, either by fuel switching (e.g., from solid to liquid, or liquid to gas) or when staying within a certain type of fuel to move toward ones with lower sulphur, and less of other contaminants. Due to limited options for fuel suppliers and their ability to locally source fuel of higher quality, energy efficiency in combustion and end-use seems to be the next best option. Better process design also has the advantage of potentially being a net cost-saver to the manufacturer through lower energy bills. The Hong Kong Government should look for ways to encourage such moves, for example, through investment assistance for energy efficient equipment, and codes of practice on the part of Hong Kong-owned and managed manufacturing plants.

An excellent program, recently launched with the help of the Asian Development Bank and the IFC is called “P2E2” (Pollution Prevention and Energy Efficiency), and is based on a five-year-old cooperative framework agreement between the US Environmental Protection Agency and the State Environmental Protection Administration of the PRC. This program gives guarantees to local banks, who can then lend (on very favourable terms) to Hong Kong based “Environmental Service Companies” (EESCOs) in order to supply environmental technology and services (from any country) to factories across the border. The beauty of this program is that the factory pays nothing. Yes, nothing. The EESCO is paid back based on the cost savings that are generated from a five-year service contract with the factory, and verified by an approved third party firm. Future service contracts can then be renewed, as improved technologies for further savings and pollution reductions are introduced. EESCOs can also gain the benefit of pollution credits that they have generated from such contracts, which can then be sellable in the growing market of pollution emission credit trading. This is arguably one of the most innovative market incentive mechanisms anywhere in the world today, and Hong Kong companies have an enormous opportunity to take advantage of this, both to help China’s growing pollution problems, as well as to be a leader in any of the developing Asian countries.

In order to combat our dire air quality situation, the Hong Kong Government should be explicit in stating that we have a direct interest in Guangdong’s energy use. The Government should be working with Guangdong in areas which aim to:

  • End price controls on petroleum products through the implementation of a market based pricing system;
  • Discouraging (and if possible, ban) the use of high sulphur fuel, with moves to facilitate the comprehensive use of low sulphur content fuels;
  • Ban the use of coal with sulphur content above 1.5 per cent, and as feasible, require the use of fuel gas desulphurisation controls;

We should then work with Hong Kong’s owned manufacturers to invest in energy efficient equipment and processes (with the help of programs like P2E2). At the same time, Hong Kong’s business associations should work with its members to raise the awareness about their responsibility toward reducing the Territory’s “imports” of air pollution from across the border. Energy audits should be highly encouraged, with Hong Kong companies hopefully taking the lead in energy conservation across the border, as well as demanding the use of clean fuels.

Hong Kong faces a unique problem due to the jurisdiction issues across the border. It is time, however, that our own factories face up to the enormous burden they are putting on our territory, at the expense of all of us. Effectively, we are subsidising these factories for their low cost production, and the economics of this action cannot continue unabated. If so, we will continue to pay the price in terms of high health costs, premature deaths and lost competitiveness due to declining living standards. Solutions are possible, but we must act on them now with, both locally, and with the powers that be across the border.

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