Environment | Air quality improving after HK, Guangdong initiatives

The sky seen from Cheoc Van Beach, Macau

According to the Air Quality Report 2016, published by environmental authorities in Macau, Hong Kong and Guangdong Province, the quality of air in the Pearl River Delta Region continued to improve last year due to anti-pollution measures implemented in Guangdong Province. Supplementary information to the report as well as its conclusions were provided in a statement issued yesterday by Macau’s Environmental Protection Bureau (DSPA).

The monitoring system responsible for measuring the change, named the Air Quality Monitoring Network for the Pearl River Delta Region, consists of some 23 stations that detect the six major air pollutants: sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), ozone (O3), inhalable particles, fine particles and carbon monoxide (CO).

According to the report, the average annual values for SO2 and inhalable particles recorded in the region fell by 8 and 6 percent respectively last year, compared with the values recorded in 2015.

The average annual value of NO2 increased by 6 percent, however the DSPA highlights this fact in context; NO2 has undergone a long-term decline and decreased by around one-quarter since 2006.

At the same time, the average annual value of O3 increased by 4 percent last year compared to 2015, but was down 4 percent compared to 2006, while the values for fine particles and CO increased by 9 percent and 1 percent respectively.

Citing some of these declines, environmental authorities in Macau, Hong Kong and Guangdong Province claim that measures to reduce emissions in the three territories have been successful.

Included in these successful measures was a series of initiatives to reduce overall air pollution caused by industrial sources, maritime and land transport, non-road mobile machinery and the production of electricity. Further, the DSPA statement indicates that it was mainly the Hong Kong and Guangdong Province authorities that carried out the initiatives.

According to yesterday’s statement, the DSPA was involved in lobbying for the legislation and the definition of scientific criteria relating to air pollutants. Furthermore, the bureau says that it has published documents outlining the standards for exhaust gases emitted by new and imported vehicles, regulated the quality of unleaded petrol and light diesel for vehicles, and launched financial incentives for the termination of two-engine motorcycles and mopeds.

In this respect, the projects undertaken by environmental authorities in Hong Kong and Guangdong Province have been far more comprehensive.
In Hong Kong, they include a reduction in emission ceilings, the strengthening of the control of petroleum gases, restrictions on the sulfur content of light diesel vehicles within Hong Kong’s maritime domain, and the regulation of non-road mobile machinery emissions.

According to the same statement, in Guangdong, the initiatives included “the imposition of clean energy and the improvement of energy sources,” the application of more stringent environmental requirements for new projects and the “elimination of companies with outdated production capacity.”

Moreover, authorities in the mainland province say that they have established areas where the use of certain fuels is prohibited, and that they have also reviewed the polluting effects of electricity generated by fossil fuels, building materials in the construction industry, and volatile organic compounds.

Meanwhile, a review of medium-term targets for reducing air pollutants in the region is due for completion “by the middle of this year,” according to the DSPA. The review will summarize the results of emissions reductions achieved in 2015 and will set new targets for 2020. DB