12 May 2005, Hong Kong - Press Release
Business Environment Council hosted the EnviroSeries 2005
Living Under Blue Skies – Power and Transport Infrastructure in the Pearl River Delta
Business Environment Council (BEC), in collaboration with the Chartered Institution Of Water and Environmental Management (CIWEM HK), held 2005 EnviroSeries conference focusing on Transport, Energy, Air Pollution and Cross-Border Cooperation at Marco Polo Hongkong Hotel today.
The conference had discussed overriding issues, solutions, action and priority items going forward in the sustainable planning of the development of Hong Kong and the Pearl River Delta (PRD). Mr. K.K. Kwok, Permanent Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works (Environment), HKSAR Government was invited as the keynote speaker and supported by a strong program of speakers including experts from government, academia, industry and the business community.
Power and transport infrastructure has been identified as the key concern of air pollution in Hong Kong. rom a regional perspective, energy, industry, motor vehicles and Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC)-containing products, make up more or less 90% of the total air pollution load in the PRD region," said Dr. Thomas Tang, Senior Advisor of Business Environment Council. "Each business, industrial or community sector contributes differently in separate air pollutant areas: vehicles and industry make up the majority of VOCs and Respirable Suspendable Particulates (RSPs) respectively, whilst the bulk of Oxides of Nitrogen (NOX) and Sulphur Dioxide (SO2) come from power plants. The problem is compounded by the long-term growth of factors like economy, population, electricity demand and vehicle mileage in the PRD region. Based on these projections, it is likely that air pollution in the region will increase rather than decrease even as the Hong Kong and Guangdong Governments continue to implement their existing improvement measures."
In the conference, Professor Anthony Hedley M.D., Chair of Community Medicine, the University of Hong Kong pointed out that in the London smog there was a strong association between black smoke, SO2 and deaths. Coal burning was the main source. While in Hong Kong, air pollutants is also one of the key factors leading to death. Reduction in sulphur would avoid premature deaths for 600 deaths and 10,000 years of life per year.
At the same time, traffic issue will not slow down its pace. Quoted from 2030 working paper, mainland visitors to Hong Kong will increase immensely from 6.8 million to 53 million from 2002 to 2030.
Encountering the air pollution caused by power generation, Mr. Richard Lancaster, Commercial Director of CLP Power Hong Kong Limited suggested the introduction of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) into Hong Kong. LNG is the lowest-emitting fossil fuel for SO2, NOx, particulates and CO2, which contributes to improving Hong Kong's air quality.
However, Dr. Yok-shiu Lee, Associate Professor, Department of Geography, the University of Hong Kong claimed that there were institutional constraints in the PRD due to fragmented governance structure where there was not a centralized authority to look at the overall picture in an integrated manner. The PRC Government has been tackling this issue by strengthening the River Basin Commission for a better co-ordination among government departments and provinces. Further restructuring of institution will be needed for consolidating cross-border co-operation in the PRD.
"Into its fourteenth year, this conference has been a successful one serving as a central platform for the key stakeholders from the government, business community and academia to discuss, debate and build capacity on this very important topic of air pollution in Hong Kong. Speakers and participants have actively expressed their concern and opinions on moving forward to achieving clean air by gradually breaking the boundaries and strengthening collaboration in the PRD." concluded Dr. Andrew Thomson, Chief Executive Officer of BEC.
Conference materials are available for downloading:
Program Booklet
A Review of Air Pollution in Hong Kong and the Pearl River Delta by BEC
Post Conference Report by BEC
Keynote Session
Welcome Speech (Speech, 18KB)
Mr. Andrew Long
Chairman, Business Environment Council
Chief Operating Officer, The Hong Kong & Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited
Ms. Luciana Wong (Speech, 15KB)
Chairperson, The Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management Hong Kong
Keynote Speech(Speech, 18KB)
Mr. K. K. Kwok
Permanent Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works (Environment) HKSAR Government
Session 1A - Transport Infrastructure
Moderator:
Mr. C.K. Lau
Executive Editor, Policy, South China Morning Post
Transport Policy and Development in the Pearl River Delta (PRD)(presentation, 737KB)
Mr. Fred Brown
Chief Executive Officer, MVA Group
Shenzhen Western Corridor Project Impacts on the Environment
Mr. Chan Siu Yuen
Associate Director, Ove Arup & Partners Hong Kong Limited
The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Project - Hong Kong's Gains and Losses (presentation, 2.28MB)
Mr. Lam Chiu-hung
Project Manager, Highways Department, Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Hong Kong Project Management Office
Session 1B - Transport Infrastructure
Moderator:
Mr. C.K. Lau
Executive Editor, Policy, South China Morning Post
Moving Goods Around the PRD - A Terminal Operator's Perspective on Tackling Air Quality and Other Environment Issues in the PRD (presentation, 631KB)
Mr. Kenneth Ying
Executive Director, Hong Kong International Terminals Limited
Traffic and Vehicle Growth Trends in the PRD - Blue Skies in the Future? (presentation, 120KB)
Dr. Hung Wing Tat
Associate Director, Department of Civil and Structural Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Lunch Session
The Health Costs of Poor Air Quality in Hong Kong (presentation, 521KB)
Prof. Anthony Hedley M.D.,
Chair of Community Medicine, The University of Hong Kong
Session 2 - Power Infrastructure
Moderator:
Ir. C.F. Wong
Director, Hong Kong Association of Energy Engineers
Emerging Trends in the PRD Power Sector (presentation, 9KB)
Mr. Bill Ruccius
President & CEO, BR Consultants
Electricity Supply in the PRD - Implications for Hong Kong (presentation, 204KB)
Mr. C.T. Wan
Director & General Manager (Corporate Development), The Hongkong Electric Company Limited
Implications of Cross-boundary Linked Power for Hong Kong's Air Quality (presentation, 276KB)
Mr. Richard Lancaster
Commercial Director, CLP Power Hong Kong Limited
Session 3 - Cross-Boundary Cooperation and Coordination
Moderator:
Mr. Paul Zimmerman
Executive Director, MF Jebsen International Limited
One Country, Two Systems, Many People Within the ASEAN 10+1 - the Business and Environment Realities
Ir. Leo K.K. Leung
Executive Director, Hopewell Infrastructure Limited
Institutional Arrangements and Transboundary Environmental Management (presentation, 331KB)
Dr. Yok-shui F. Lee
Associate Professor, Department of Geography, The University of Hong Kong
Business-led Initiatives - A Ray of Hope (presentation, 238KB)
Dr. Thomas Tang
Senior Advisor, Business Environment Council
Panelist:
Dr. James Wang
Associate Professor, Department of Geography, The University of Hong Kong
Ir. Otto Poon
Chairman, Strategy Subcommittee of Council for Sustainable Development and Energy Advisory Committee
Concluding Remarks
Dr. Andrew Thomson
Chief Executive Officer, Business Environment Council
Press contact
Wendy Lam, Senior Communications Officer, T. 2784 3922