Hong Kong: A Review of Environmental Policy and Quality (1997-2007)

By Christine Loh
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In the ten years since the Handover, Hong Kong’s environment quality has not improved or has even
deteriorated in many areas. That is not to say there have been no improvements but, overall, Hong
Kong residents still suffer from dangerously high levels of air pollution, poor marine water quality,
high levels of exposure to severe traffic noise and rapidly diminishing landfill space. Areas rich in
biodiversity are being compromised.

The existing sustainable development strategy does not provide an operational tool for guiding
administrators on policy development. Indeed, the government continues to insist there is a need to
“balance” economic development and environmental protection when, in reality, rebalancing and
restoration in favour of the environment are urgently needed.

The solutions to environmental problems require policy-making to be integrated across many areas of
government, such as planning, transport, energy and works. Moreover, the solutions for many
environmental problems require cross-border cooperation with neighboring Guangdong Province,
and/or cooperation with local businesses. This requires thorough understanding of emissions sources,
clear thinking, transparent information flows, as well as strong negotiation skills on the part of the
government when dealing with many parties and issues.

This report provides a summary of the environmental problems Hong Kong faced in 1997, the
achievements that have been made over the past decade and the challenges that still remain. It also
points to what needs to be done in the coming years.

Air Quality Management

Main problems in 1997

• Outdated Air Quality Objectives (AQOs) that do not protect public health;
• Large diesel vehicle fleets with poor emission controls (the majority with pre-Euro fuel standards);
• Use of illegal low-quality diesel;
• High density of traffic and population in dense urban canyons resulting in high roadside
concentrations; and
• Growing problem of regional air pollution.

Achievements since 1997

• Reduction in vehicular emissions;
• Reduction in Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) emissions;
• Regional emissions reduction targets on a best effort with Guangdong by 2010; and
• Regional air monitoring network and data release system.

Problems remaining in 2007

• Air Quality Objectives remain a licence to pollute although an 18-month review is under way;
• Continued high roadside emissions of nitrogen dioxide and particulates;
• Continuing problem of regional air pollution, particularly ozone;
• Failure to address traffic growth;
• Failure to address emissions from large commercial vehicles;
• Failure to address emissions from marine vessels; and
• Uncertainty over whether the regional emissions reduction targets will be met.

Energy Policy

Main problems in 1997

• Lack of a clear policy and strategy for energy efficiency and conservation;
• Regulatory schemes for electric utilities provided a disincentive to the promotion of energy efficiency
and renewable energy;
• Poor energy performance standards for new buildings;
• No mandatory energy efficiency standards for appliances;
• Relatively inexpensive electricity that provided no incentive for conservation.

Achievements since 1997

• Introduction of various voluntary energy codes;
• Promotion on voluntary energy saving ideas, such as turning up air conditioning in the summer to
25.5 Deg C.

Problems remaining in 2007

• Continued lack of coordinated and sustainable energy policy;
• Continued failure of the regulatory schemes to promote energy conservation and efficiency in
electricity;
• Continued reliance on voluntary efficiency measures; and
• Continued failure to address building energy use.

Climate Change Policy

Main problems in 1997

• No policy on climate change;
• No targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions;
• Fragmented policy control; and
• Profligate energy use.

Achievements since 1997

• Target set for renewable energy.

Problems remaining in 2007

• Lack of targets for reduction of greenhouse gases;
• Continuing increase in total and per capita greenhouse gas emissions; and
• Lack of leadership and coordination on energy issues.
Drinking Water Quality Management

Main problems in 1997

• No explicit policy or targets for water conservation;
• Contractual overprovision of water purchases from Guangdong resulting in freshwater wastage; and
• Domestic water price below full cost of supply.

Achievements since 1997

• Renegotiation of the supply contract with Guangdong; and
• Water conservation programme introduced.

Problems remaining in 2007

• Contractual problem with Guangdong not entirely resolved (new contract to be negotiated in 2008);
and
• Domestic water rates are still lower than cost of supply.

Sewage Treatment

Main problems in 1997

• Only basic sewage treatment, lack of sewage treatment in the New Territories;
• Particularly poor water quality in Victoria Harbour, Deep Bay and Tolo Harbour;
• Contaminated marine sediments in some areas; and
• Particularly poor water quality in some rivers due to livestock waste and villages without sewer
systems.

Achievements since 1997

• An overall 27% increase in the amount of sewage treated in 2005 (against a 7% increase in
population);
• Partial completion of harbour treatment plans, and increase in proportion of harbour area sewage
treated under the plan from 8% in 1997 to 52% in 2005; and
• Improvements in most marine water controlled zones and rivers.

Problems remaining in 2007

• 25% of sewage in the harbour treatment service area (generated by one million people) still receives
screening only;
• Long-term solution for secondary sewage treatment still in discussion;
• Large areas of Hong Kong Island and Kowloon sewerage require upgrading;
• Increase in total and per capita sewage volumes generated;
• Village sewerage in rural areas still not completed;
• Some rivers still have bad/very bad water quality;
• Deep Bay water quality in decline; and
• Significant marine pollution loads from the Guangdong.

Solid Waste Management

Main problems in 1997
• Landfills filling up more quickly than anticipated;
• No landfill charge for privately or publicly collected waste; and
• No policy on waste reduction.

Achievements since 1997

• Per capita domestic waste totals only increased by 1%;
• 89% diversion of construction and demolition waste from landfill (to China); and
• Increase in quantities of waste recycled.

Problems remaining in 2007

• Landfills are projected to be at capacity by 2015, or by 2010 if construction and demolition waste is
not reduced, recycled or diverted from landfill;
• Rapid increase in commercial waste;
• Low recovery rates for domestic waste;
• Uncertainty over future demand for construction and demolition waste;
• No regulatory requirements for private construction works to reduce or recycle construction and
demolition waste;
• No waste charging scheme in place for municipal waste; and
• Future landfill site yet to be identified.

Noise Pollution Management

Main problems in 1997

• Large numbers of people exposed to severe traffic and aircraft noise; and
• Large numbers of complaints about construction and neighbourhood noise.

Achievements since 1997

• Near elimination of excess noise from aircraft with relocation of airport; and
• Effective control of percussive piling.

Problems remaining in 2007

• Noise from existing roads continues to be a problem;
• Noise from roads predicted to get worse - 10% more people exposed to excessive traffic noise by 2016;
• Lack of wide political support for traffic management measures; and
• Lack of control of construction and renovation noise apart from percussive piling.

Nature Conservation

Main problems in 1997

• Lack of a comprehensive nature conservation policy;
• Piecemeal protection of ecologically valuable areas;
• Intense development pressures; and
• Under-resourced and over-stretched department responsible for conservation.
Achievements since 1997
• Designation of another country park, Lung Fu Shan (47 hectares) in 1998, the first for nearly 20
years, and another marine park, Tung Ping Chau (270 hectares) in 2001;
• Designation of eight new Sites of Special Scientific Interest; and
• Conservation issues have received more attention.

Problems remaining in 2007

• Lack of a comprehensive nature conservation policy;
• Continued ad hoc protection of ecologically valuable areas;
• Intense development pressures and development-led planning ethos; and
• Under-resourced and over-stretched department responsible for conservation.

Actions in specific policy areas are needed to address the outstanding issues highlighted above. For
example, to fight air pollution the HKSAR Government must tighten the AQOs, and introduce a
specific objective for ultra-fine particulates (PM2.5) in line with World Health Organization guidance.
It must set a timetable in the foreseeable future for the scrapping of pre-Euro, Euro I and even Euro II
vehicles. Moreover, town plans must be revised to help clean up roadside pollution, such as by
providing large pedestrian-only areas, and to restrict vehicles from entering busy areas at certain
hours. By promoting good planning, the government can also reduce traffic noise.

Marine emissions and emissions arising from port operations must be cleaned up since the throughput
moving through Hong Kong and the nearby ports in Shenzhen make this small body of water the
busiest in the world. Marine and vehicular emissions (arising from shipping and logistics operations) is
part of the economic lifeblood of South China and, since they are in close proximity to large population
areas, Hong Kong and Shenzhen must collaborate to ensure they run the cleanest ports in the world.
Ships on cross-Pacific routes have to observe much tighter regulations on the US West Coast. Thus
when they dock in Hong Kong and Shenzhen, they have the ability to meet similar standards but this
will not happen uniformly unless stricter regulations are in place.

Beyond ports and logistics, Hong Kong and Guangdong have a joint interest in cleaning up their region
to improve the health of their people, and to use the opportunity to become much more energy efficient
and reduce carbon emissions; this in turn will push their industries to upgrade. Because the Chinese
11th Five Year Plan (2006-2010) requires Guangdong to meet more stringent energy efficiency and
pollution reduction targets, the next few years provide a good opportunity for both sides to increase
collaboration on environmental protection.

Hong Kong should conduct a comprehensive energy review to look at how its energy needs can be met
in sustainable ways over the next 10 to 20 years, and to set greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction targets. A
key area is buildings. To fulfil its aspirations to be a global financial centre, the city should ensure that
it has the right regulatory framework to ensure that older buildings are retrofitted and new ones
provide high energy efficiency, while also maximising productivity and health benefits for their
occupants.

In renewal negotiations next year for the Scheme of Control Agreements that applies to electric
utilities, the power companies should be given incentives to promote demand side management rather
than terms that encourage increased capital investments, as under the current arrangements. The best
way to do this would be to decouple electricity sales and profits so the utilities are rewarded for helping
customers cut usage. Unfortunately, this is unlikely to happen; the Hong Kong government’s primary
goal seems to be to reduce the utilities’ rate of return because doing so is politically popular.

In water management, the HKSAR government should redouble efforts to reduce domestic water
consumption, including raising water charges so that the full costs of providing water are recovered.
Unfortunately, it is unlikely to raise water charges because it is politically unpopular to raise fees for
any public service. In terms of marine water, Hong Kong needs to expedite the next stage of the
harbour sewage scheme to deal with secondary treatment and to build sewers in all remaining places
that are not adequate served. As with water charges, the government will find it hard to increase
sewage fees.

The same can be said for promoting solid waste reduction. Without imposing charges, it is unlikely
there will be dramatic reductions. As long as the government is unable to find ways to explain costs
and benefits, and opportunity costs, it will be unable to do what it knows is necessary. While the
polluters-pay principle has been articulated for a long time, it will remain only rhetoric unless there is
determined action.

To deal with nature conservation, Hong Kong must develop a comprehensive nature conservation
policy which addresses all outstanding issues, namely international wildlife trading, protection and
management of ecologically sensitive sites on both private and public land, protection of rare and
endangered species, restoration of degraded or lost habitats, marine biodiversity, better law
enforcement, plus gaps in knowledge about land and water biodiversity.

Hong Kong’s inherited legacy of pollution problems stem largely from poor planning. In 2007, the
process for strategic and transport planning in particular continues to display a lack of integration of
related environmental issues. This partly stems from the government’s infrastructure development-led
ethos which conflicts with stated sustainable development objectives in the planning system. Public
consultation and engagement processes seldom provide for fundamental questioning of government
plans. The vision for Hong Kong’s development still derives largely from the top of the administration,
and there is a tendency for large infrastructure projects to bypass the strategic planning process and be
pushed through without robust analysis.

Hong Kong’s environment, particularly air and water pollution, is heavily influenced by region-wide
emissions. At the same time, Hong Kong’s economy is growing ever more integrated with Guangdong,
so there is both the need and the opportunity to exert influence. Despite some useful studies and
initiatives, the level of cross-border cooperation is still quite limited. Release of data from the
Mainland needs to be further improved for it is difficult to direct policy or resources without it. Most
cooperation is also done at an administrative level, despite the interest of business and NGOs in
supporting government efforts. Increased engagement of the business community in particular is vital
for expediting efforts to reduce pollution across the border.

From the Chief Executive down, decision-makers are (and long have been) reliant on large
infrastructure projects as a primary tool for promoting economic growth. The lack of leadership on
environmental protection over the past decade has had knock-on effects on the civil service. Decision-
makers use the rhetoric of sustainable development freely, but have yet to truly put it into practice.
They have failed to identify sustainable development as a policy objective or to align government
organisational structures and practices to meet this goal. Therefore, as a whole, the decisions and
behaviour of ministers and officials do not reflect an attempt to find sustainable solutions. Indeed, the
most senior political leaders have yet to internalise sustainable development and the ways it can be
both a development strategy and an operational guide for policy implementation. Surprisingly, there
still seems to be little appreciation that, in today’s world, no economy can be seen as truly competitive
when the health of its people is under daily threat from pollution and ecological damage.

Yet, Hong Kong has enormous capacity to act once priorities are realigned. There is a depth of
expertise among the government’s environmental officers, whose energy could be released with the
right policy emphasis. The city also has a large number of professionals who can just as easily apply
their knowledge to promote sustainable development rather than suboptimal projects which
emphasize the speed of development. Hong Kong’s society will more likely than not support
sustainable choices if the pros and cons are properly explained as part of the political process.
Fortunately, the city is wealthy and has the means to pay for the environmental transformation it
needs.

Christine Loh is the CEO of the Hong Kong non-profit research organization Civic Exchange. She was a
member of the Hong Kong Legislative Council from 1992 to 1997, and again from 1998 to 2000. Ms.
Loh chaired its Environmental Affairs Panel, and has long experience in both local and international
environmental issues. She is an international advisor to the G5+5 Climate Change Dialogue and a
director of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. A lawyer by training, she spent 15 years in the private
sector before entering politics. She writes extensively on sustainable development, political reform,
political economy and Hong Kong’s relations with Beijing.

http://www.hkjournal.org/archive/2007_winter/5.htm

Abstract
For the past 20 years, environmental policy in Hong Kong has been driven by responses to a variety of
local problems resulting in an array of environmental ordinances and supporting regulations
addressing air, water and noise pollution problems, waste management and the use of EIA in the
development planning process. Hong Kong's approach to environmental policy has been based on the
conventional ‘command and control’ model of environmental management. It has, however, become
increasingly apparent that many of Hong Kong's environmental problems cannot be effectively
addressed solely by local initiatives but must involve broader collaborative efforts with authorities in
neighbouring Guangdong Province. Furthermore, the Hong Kong SAR's efforts to address
sustainability issues, which are still at an early stage, may also be facilitated by a regional rather than
purely local perspective as well as by one that explores the utility of the ecological modernization
model. This paper discusses the recent evolution of environmental policy in Hong Kong, the
emergence of a regional environmental management agenda and the potential of ecological
modernization as a basis for the development of a broader strategy to manage the environmental
problems of the Pearl River Delta Region. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. and ERP
Environment.

Press Release

Regional Air Quality Monitoring Network results for 2010 announced today

The Environmental Protection Department (EPD) of the Government of the Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region and the Department of Environmental Protection of Guangdong
Province (GDEPD) today announced the report on the monitoring results of four major air
pollutants (i.e. sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, ozone, and respirable suspended
particulates) measured by the Pearl River Delta Regional Air Quality Monitoring Network
(Network) for 2010. The report, which covers the air quality conditions in the Pearl River Delta
(PRD) Region (including HKSAR and PRD Economic Zone) for the full year of 2010, is
available at both the GDEPD's website andEPD's website.

Since the operation of the Network in 2006, the average annual concentrations of sulphur
dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and respirable suspended particulates in the region decreased by
47%, 7% and 14% respectively in 2010 as compared to the 2006 levels. Moreover, while the
average annual concentration level of nitrogen dioxide remained more or less the same as
compared to the 2009 level, the average annual concentration levels of sulphur dioxide,
respirable suspended particulates and ozone decreased by 14%, 7% and 5% respectively
amidst continuing growth of the economy in the Region last year. These reductions are
attributable to implementation of enhanced emission reduction measures by both sides. Last
year Hong Kong tightened the statutory specifications for motor vehicle fuels to the Euro V
standards and provided financial subsidy to encourage early replacement of Euro II diesel
commercial vehicles. In addition, the local power companies have been installing by phases
the desulphurization and denitrification systems. As for Guangdong, the key measures
implemented include: accomplishing installation of desulphurization systems for power plants
and closing down small power generating units; completing installation of denitrification
systems for power plants with a total capacity of 5382 MW; completing the installation of
vapour recovery system at petrol filling stations, oil depots and tanker trucks in the PRD
Region; implementing new pollutant emission standards for boilers, cement industry, furniture
manufacturing industry, printing industry, shoe-making industry and surface coating of
automobile manufacturing industry; tightening the emission standards for light duty petrol
vehicles and gas vehicles in PRD Region to National IV standards; and starting to supply
motor petrol at the National IV standard, etc.

Overall, 77% of the Regional Air Quality Index as recorded by the Network in 2010 were within
Grade II, meaning the pollutant concentrations were within Class 2 National Ambient Air
Quality Standards (NAAQS - applicable to general residential areas). The overall regional air
quality shows further improvement as compared to that in 2009.
According to the 2010 monitoring results, the overall concentrations of most pollutants were
generally higher in the winter months (e.g. January to March and from October to December)
whilst lower concentration levels were recorded in the summer months (e.g. June to August).
Similar pattern was recorded last year. Geographically, air quality was better in the coastal
areas than the central and north-west areas of the region, probably as a result of relatively
more favourable conditions for dispersion of pollutants in the former. This situation is in line
with our observations in previous years.

The Network is one of the major achievements of cooperation between the two sides in
environmental protection. It comprises 16 automatic ambient monitoring stations scattering
over the region, 13 of which are in the PRD Economic Zone, i.e. Guangzhou, Shenzhen,
Zhuhai, Foshan, Zhongshan, Huizhou, Dongguan, Jiangmen, Zhaoqing, Shunde, Huiyang,
Panyu and Conghua, and three are in Tsuen Wan, Tung Chung and Tap Mun of Hong Kong.
The Guangdong Provincial Environmental Monitoring Centre and EPD are respectively
responsible for the coordination, management and operation of the monitoring stations of the
two sides.

During the reporting period, the Network had operated smoothly in accordance with the
Quality Assurance/Quality Control Operating Procedures, which ensures that air quality data
from the monitoring stations are of a high degree of precision and accuracy.

The environmental monitoring authorities of the two sides will continue to monitor the regional
air quality and regularly announce the latest monitoring results. The monitoring results for the
first half year of 2011 are expected to be available in October this year.

Ends/Thursday, April 28, 2011

http://www.epd.gov.hk/epd/english/news_events/press/press_110428a.html

Abstract
For the past 20 years, environmental policy in Hong Kong has been driven by responses to a variety of
local problems resulting in an array of environmental ordinances and supporting regulations
addressing air, water and noise pollution problems, waste management and the use of EIA in the
development planning process. Hong Kong's approach to environmental policy has been based on the
conventional ‘command and control’ model of environmental management. It has, however, become
increasingly apparent that many of Hong Kong's environmental problems cannot be effectively
addressed solely by local initiatives but must involve broader collaborative efforts with authorities in
neighbouring Guangdong Province. Furthermore, the Hong Kong SAR's efforts to address
sustainability issues, which are still at an early stage, may also be facilitated by a regional rather than
purely local perspective as well as by one that explores the utility of the ecological modernization
model. This paper discusses the recent evolution of environmental policy in Hong Kong, the
emergence of a regional environmental management agenda and the potential of ecological
modernization as a basis for the development of a broader strategy to manage the environmental
problems of the Pearl River Delta Region. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. and ERP
Environment.
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/sd.188/abstract