2020 Contents
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香港環境保護 ENVIRONMENT HONG KONG 2020 CONTENTS Foreword By The Secretary Stakeholder Engagement 03 For The Environment 41 Building Partnerships 42 Permanent Secretary / 05 Director’s Message Community Awareness 45 Pollution Prevention & 49 Sustainable Development 06 Control Cross-boundary and Air 52 International Cooperation Noise 11 52 Water 13 Environmental Assessment 18 Environmental Compliance 21 24 Resource Management Waste Reduction 25 Waste Facilities 32 Energy 35 Nature Conservation 38 ENVIRONMENT HONG KONG 2020 FOREWORD BY THE SECRETARY FOR THE ENVIRONMENT Hong Kong as well as the world have been severely power systems for eligible schools and non- battered by COVID-19. While we join hands in fighting the governmental welfare organisations free of charge. In virus, the pandemic has once again reminded us that we the meantime, there are various on-going initiatives are only part of the nature. The well-being of us and our and promotion activities encouraging public future generations depends on whether we can co-exist participation in the development of renewable energy with the nature in harmony to achieve sustainable and enhancement of energy efficiency. Moreover, a development. Amid the pandemic in 2020, the public engagement exercise has been conducted by Environmental Protection Department (EPD) has been the Council for Sustainable Development to gauge the pressing ahead with our work. Among the various views of the public on the long-term decarbonisation environmental challenges, climate change has a far- strategy of Hong Kong. In formulating the relevant reaching impact in particular. We must make a concerted policies, we will take into account the effort to accelerate the low-carbon transition through recommendations of the Council. emission reduction, energy saving and waste reduction, etc. Furthermore, we have devoted substantial resources to reduce the emission of air pollutants, including the As power generation is the major source of carbon implementation of various air quality improvement emission in Hong Kong, the Government has plans and promotion of cleaner production formulated various low-carbon energy policies, and technologies. As a result, all the major air quality has been promoting energy efficiency and parameters have shown significant improvement. conservation to the public, so as to mitigate climate change. The new “Feed-in Tariff” policy has been well Waste reduction is another complex challenge that received since its implementation. On this basis, we Hong Kong is facing. A multi-pronged approach should launched the Solar Harvest in 2019 to install solar be adopted to encourage people to “use less and 03 ù www.enb.gov.hk ù www.epd.gov.hk ENVIRONMENT HONG KONG 2020 waste less”. While it is necessary for the Government still has to extend its existing landfills to meet the Kong. to take measures and allocate resources, it is more actual needs of the community. important for the public to support our efforts by Lastly, I wish to thank colleagues of the Environment changing their mindset and habits. To this end, the In addition, on the prevention and control of water Bureau (ENB) and the EPD for their hard work and Government has made proactive efforts to call for pollution, the Government invested a total of $57 commitment to protect the environment for the public engagement in waste reduction activities. In billion from 1990 to 2019 to implement various benefit of people. 2019, we launched a number of new programmes to measures to provide proper treatment to effluent support waste reduction and clean recycling in the before it is discharged. In 2018-19, the expenditure in community, including the promotion of waste this regard amounted to $2 billion. Today, the overall reduction at source such as plastic-free takeaway and water quality of beaches, marine waters, rivers and using reusable tableware, implementation of food streams in Hong Kong has improved significantly, waste recycling, establishment of outreaching teams, achieving “Excellent” or “Good” grades. and allocation of over $200 million to support community-initiated waste reduction projects. Besides implementing various programmes locally, we have also intensified our collaborations with Apart from the T·PARK for treating sludge and the Guangdong Province and Macau to enhance the WEEE·PARK for treating and recycling waste electrical quality of our shared environment, with improvement and electronic equipment (WEEE) which commenced of regional air quality being one of our focus areas. operation in 2016 and 2017 respectively, other Moreover, Hong Kong and Guangdong teamed up for advanced facilities for recycling food waste, including the first time in 2019 to conduct shoreline clean-up the O·PARK1 and the facilities for food waste/sewage operations to enhance public awareness in clean sludge anaerobic co-digestion trial scheme, have been shorelines in a bid to step up protection of the marine progressively developed to turn waste into resources environment. or energy. The Integrated Waste Management Facilities (IWMF) Phase 1 designed for treating We have also devoted considerable resources to municipal solid waste (MSW) is also under construction nature conservation through, for example, providing and will further enhance our capability to turn waste funds for various conservation projects and expanding into energy. However, the above measures are still the protected areas. Looking ahead, let us work inadequate to handle all of our waste. While striving to together to promote green recovery, create a healthy develop facilities for waste reduction at source, clean and liveable city, conserve the natural environment Mr. Wong Kam-sing, GBS, JP recycling and turning waste into energy, Hong Kong and support the sustainable development of Hong Secretary for the Environment 04 ù www.enb.gov.hk ù www.epd.gov.hk ENVIRONMENT HONG KONG 2020 work for implementing MSW charging. To deal with waste are planning to tighten our Air Quality Objectives (AQOs) that was not recycled or not recyclable, we embarked on and have conducted a public consultation in this regard in the extension of the existing landfills, starting with 2019. Southeast New Territories Landfill in 2019. We have been closely collaborating with our regional Waste management is part of our international counterparts. During the year, we launched a joint study obligations. To prevent Hong Kong from becoming a on post-2020 regional air pollutant emission reduction dumping ground of overseas waste or a hub for illegal targets and concentration levels. We also organised the waste shipments, we are fully committed to curbing illegal first joint coastal clean-up with Guangdong authorities. transboundary waste movements. Our compliance team inspected more than 1 200 imported waste containers in Conserving Hong Kong’s natural environment forms an 2019, representing an increase of 50% over 2018. integral part of our goals. In 2019, we established the Advisory Committee on Countryside Conservation and On energy, we have introduced more measures to launched the Countryside Conservation Funding Scheme support public participation in the development of to support the implementation of conservation and PERMANENT SECRETARY/ renewable energy (RE), including Solar Harvest and RE revitalisation projects in the remote countryside so as to Certificate. These and a wide range of ongoing protect our beautiful scenery for the enjoyment of the DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE programmes to tighten building energy standards, general public. promote energy saving, mandate energy efficiency labels In 2019, we continued to build capacity in the community teams were deployed in the community to help the public on home appliances, etc. demonstrated our full We are forging a strong partnership between the to work towards the ENB’s goals to reduce waste and understand how to practise waste separation at source commitment to pursuing the low-carbon goal. Government and the community to protect the climate impacts, improve air and water quality, strengthen and proper recycling. environment and promote sustainable development in cross-boundary collaboration on environmental Air pollution is closely related to energy consumption as Hong Kong, and to make the best outcomes through protection, and to improve and protect Hong Kong’s We also continue to develop waste collection and emissions generated from consuming energy aggravate collaboration and discussion. natural environment. treatment services. In 2019, we expanded programmes to local pollution and contribute to greenhouse gas collect food waste, and studied the introduction of a new emissions. The Government has been phasing out heavily We are expanding our waste reduction and recycling producer responsibility scheme on plastic beverage polluting vehicles, progressively tightening the emission programmes and have spared no effort in encouraging containers. Moreover, new waste-to-energy facilities were caps for power plants, requiring vessels to use cleaner public participation. The “Dump Less, Save More” being built, including the O·PARK2 and the IWMF Phase 1, fuels and investing in installing electric vehicle charging- Ms. Cheng Mei Sze, Maisie, JP campaign was launched in 2019 to bring home the to convert food waste and other MSW into energy enabling infrastructure and providing other support. As Permanent Secretary for the Environment / message of waste reduction. Moreover, outreaching respectively. We also continued to pursue the legislative these measures are beginning