LC Paper No. CB(1)31/19-20(03) For discussion on 28 October 2019 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL PANEL ON ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS 2019 POLICY ADDRESS POLICY INITIATIVES OF ENVIRONMENT BUREAU: ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION PURPOSE 1. This paper sets out the major policy initiatives of the Environment Bureau (ENB) and the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) in relation to environmental protection and relevant issues in the 2019 Policy Address. KEY INITIATIVES Improving Air Quality Improving Roadside Air Quality 2. Improving air quality at the roadside to better protect public health has always been a key environment policy of the Government. The Government has implemented a series of vehicle emission control measures in recent years, including phasing out pre-Euro IV diesel commercial vehicles, strengthening emissions control on liquefied petroleum gas and petrol vehicles, retrofitting old franchised buses with emission reduction device, etc. As a result, the concentrations of key air pollutants at the roadside, including respirable suspended particulates (RSP), fine suspended particulates (FSP) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2), have reduced by around 30 per cent between 2013 and 2018. To further lower levels of air pollutants at the roadside, we will continue to introduce other new control measures. Installation of Electric Vehicle Charging-enabling Infrastructure in Car Parks of Existing Private Residential Buildings 3. Electric vehicles (EVs) have no tailpipe emissions. Therefore, replacing conventional vehicles with EVs can help improve roadside air quality. In view of the general improvement in driving range of common electric private cars (e-PCs) available in the market recently 1 , the 1 With ongoing technology development in e-PCs, more affordable e-PC models are available in the market. 1 Government’s policy direction is that e-PC owners should charge their cars at home, workplaces or other suitable places on a routine basis; and public charging network serves to provide top-up charging in the case of occasional needs while on the road. Accordingly, to facilitate a gradual popularisation of e-PCs, it is crucial to promote installation of EV charging facilities in new and existing private residential buildings. 4. To encourage installation of EV charging facilities in private premises, the Government has required since April 2011 that only underground car parks in new private buildings with EV charging-enabling infrastructure covering each parking space can be fully exempted from the gross floor area calculation. Regarding the existing private residential buildings, the Government recognises that some owners of car parks may encounter difficulties in installation of EV charging facilities, including limitations on power supply for the buildings concerned in carparks, space constraints in retrofitting cabling and conduits, and difficulties in reaching a consensus among the building owners on the sharing of the cost of works and other relevant costs. In this regard, the Government will formulate a two billion pilot subsidy scheme to subsidise car park owners of existing private residential buildings meeting prescribed criteria to install EV charging- enabling infrastructure. We are devising the details of the scheme and will brief this Panel on the scheme and seek funding approval. Formulating a Trial Scheme on Electric Public Light Bus (e-PLB) 5. Application of e-PLBs in Hong Kong has proven to be challenging due to hilly terrains, long daily mileage, the need to provide air-conditioning in all seasons, long duration of charging, space and power constraints for installation of charging facilities, etc. Currently, after full charging of four hours, electric light bus models available in the Hong Kong market still come short of meeting the general daily mileage of PLBs, thus are not able to match the daily operational requirement of the trade for the time being. 6. To promote the development of e-PLBs and overcome the above constraints, the Government engaged a consultant in March 2019 to formulate the basic technical requirements and specifications of e-PLBs and associated charging facilities that suit Hong Kong’s operating conditions, and is making preparations for the implementation of a trial scheme on e-PLBs. According to the preliminary assessment, PLBs in Hong Kong which run on fixed routes will have greater potential to first switch to e-PLBs. This is because the routes of these PLBs are not too long; charging facilities can also be installed at its fixed PLB termini, public transport interchanges or other designated places to facilitate their daily operation. Most of the models’ laboratory-tested driving range are more than 300km, thus fairly meeting most Hong Kong drivers' general needs of daily mileage of only a few tens of km. 2 Tightening the Emission Requirements of Franchised Bus Low Emission Zones 7. Franchised buses could account for up to 40% of the overall traffic flow along busy road sections. Since 31 December 2015, the Government has set up Franchised Bus Low Emission Zones at three busy road sections2, allowing only low emission franchised buses (i.e. buses meeting Euro IV or above emission standards, or Euro II and III buses retrofitted with selective catalytic reduction devices and diesel particulate filters) to run through the zones3, so as to improve roadside air quality within the zones. 8. To further improve the roadside air quality within these zones, the Government plans to require franchised bus companies to deploy low emission buses meeting Euro V or above emission standards to routes running through the zones from 31 December 2019. The EPD and the Transport Department will continue to closely monitor the implementation of the policy. Review of the Pilot Green Transport Fund (PGTF) 9. The Government has put in place the $300 million PGTF in March 2011 to encourage the transport sector to test out green innovative transport technologies. The public transport sector (including taxis, public light buses, buses and ferries), goods vehicle (including special purpose vehicles) operators, as well as charitable/non-profit making organisations providing transport services are eligible to apply. As at end-August 2019, 168 trial applications were approved, including 102 on EVs, 58 on hybrid vehicles and 8 applicable to buses and ferries. About $147 million of subsidies are involved. 10. To further promote wider use of new energy transport technologies by the transport sector, and to encourage further use of technologies that the PGTF proved suitable for local adoption, the Government is conducting a review on the current scope of the fund. We aim to complete the review in 2019 and thereafter consult the LegCo about the results of the review and apply for additional funding as necessary. Pilot Scheme on New Energy Ferries 11. To reduce emissions from ferries, the Government plans to launch a pilot scheme on electric ferries serving in-harbour routes of the Victoria 2 The three Franchised Bus Low Emission Zones are located at Yee Wo Street in Causeway Bay, the junction of Des Voeux Road Central and Pedder Street in Central, and the junction of Nathan Road and Lai Chi Kok Road in Mong Kok. 3 In the case of traffic congestion, vehicle breakdowns, traffic accidents and ad-hoc trips, etc., the franchised bus companies may need to deploy non-low emission buses to the zones in order to maintain normal bus services. 3 Harbour. We will formulate the details of a pilot scheme on new energy ferries in the coming year and consult the LegCo for seeking necessary resources to take the scheme forward. Exploring the Tightening of Sulphur Content of the Locally Supplied Marine Light Diesel 12. To encourage vessels using cleaner fuels, the Government plans to explore further tightening of the maximum sulphur content of the locally supplied marine light diesel from the prevailing limit of 0.05% to 0.001%, and will consult relevant stakeholders. Tightening the Content Limits of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) for Architectural Paints 13. VOC and nitrogen oxides will undergo photochemical reaction under sunlight to form ozone and suspended particulates. The accumulation of ozone, suspended particulates and other pollutants will result in smog. To reduce VOC emissions, the Government plans to further tighten the content limits of VOC in architectural paints. We will complete a trade consultation in the coming year. Cleaner Production 14. The Government proposes to allocate a funding of $300 million to extend the Cleaner Production Partnership Programme4 to March 2025. The programme encourages Hong Kong-owned factories to adopt cleaner production technologies, thereby continually improving the regional environmental quality. After consulting the industries, we will report the details of the extension of the programme to the EA Panel. Promoting a “Plastic-free” Culture, Waste Reduction and Recycling “Plastic-free” Culture 15. Environmental pollution by plastic products and marine pollution by microplastics have become a topic of concern in recent years. To alleviate the impact on ecology and environment, the Government will endeavour to promote a “plastic-free” culture, thereby reducing the use of single-use plastics 4 The EPD launched the Cleaner Production Partnership Programme in April 2008 in collaboration with the then Economic and Information Commission of Guangdong Province (currently known as the Department of Industry and Information Technology of Guangdong Province). Through funding support and technology promotion activities,