HK Chief Executive Stresses Better EnvironmentTung Chee Hwa, chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, said Monday that the Hong Kong government is placing as much emphasis on the state of the environment as on the state of the economy.The government fully understands that it is no good having a hugely successful economy without commensurate quality of life which includes clear air, fresh water, and a green and healthy living environment, noted Tung when he delivered a speech at the Better Air Quality Motor Vehicle Control & Technology Workshop Opening Ceremony Monday. He pointed out that controlling vehicle emissions is an important component of the government's comprehensive program to improve the air quality in Hong Kong. To curtail the two major pollutants in vehicle exhausts, the government sets a target to reduce nitrogen oxides emissions by 30 percent by the end of 2005 and to cut particulate emissions by 80 percent by that time, he said. "I am happy to say that, over the past twelve months, we have made considerable progress," he added. As one of the first steps, the government has begun a program to replace our 18,000 diesel taxis with those that run on cleaner liquefied petroleum gas. From next week, the government will begin a program to retrofit particulate traps on the 42,000 pre-Euro light diesel vehicles in Hong Kong. Tung said Hong Kong became the first city in Asia to introduce ultra-low sulphur diesel, and a concessionary duty was levied on the fuel to make it price-competitive with the normal diesel on the market at that time. In order to better co-ordinate inter-departmental efforts to improve air quality, a task force chaired by the Secretary for the Environment and Food was established in May. "In addition to overseeing the implementation of measures announced in last year's Policy Address, which were many, the Task Force will investigate further practicable measures that can be taken to tackle air pollution problems even more comprehensively," he said. |
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