China's Energy Crisis Blankets Hong Kong in Smog
Sept. 16, 2004 - By Katie Hunt
HONG KONG (Reuters) - To gaze across Hong Kong's harbor at the city's
glittering skyscrapers and soaring peaks is to take in one of the
world's most spectacular urban vistas.
When you can see it.
The "fragrant harbor" from which Hong Kong takes its name is often
shrouded in toxic smog.
Hong Kong's air pollution hit a record high on September 14, with the
index rising to over 200 for the first time since air quality
monitoring was introduced in 1995. Doctors advised asthma sufferers
and those with heart disease to stay indoors.
"I don't see any reason why it will improve. The trend is really
alarming," said Alexis Lau, acting director of the Center for Coastal
and Atmosphere Research and a professor at the Hong Kong University
of Science and Technology.
Experts lay the blame for Hong Kong's worsening air pollution on
China, which the World Health Organization says has seven of the
world's 10 most polluted cities.
Most of the pollution cloaking Hong Kong is generated by coal-fired
power plants and smokestacks from China's industrial south, as well
as traffic fumes from the city's own congested streets.
ENERGY SHORTAGE
China faces a chronic energy shortage and making the switch from
coal-fired plants to cleaner fuel is costly and disruptive.
It is the second consecutive summer that factories have faced
brownouts or managed power cuts. Residents have been urged to turn
off their electricity-guzzling air conditioners despite the
sweltering heat.
Double-digit growth in individual car ownership in the neighboring
province of Guangdong compounds the problem.
In Hong Kong, the number of days a year when visibility falls below 8
km (5 miles) has risen from around 50 in 1993 to over 160 last year.
Nearby Shenzhen and Macau have seen similar increases, according to
data provided by Lau.
This week, pollution was worst near Hong Kong's airport, where planes
took off and landed in an orange-tinged haze. One day in August,
visibility in Hong Kong harbour fell to as low as 550 meters (600
yards) and smog contributed to collisions on the water involving
eight vessels.
The problem is set to get worse this winter when prevailing northern
winds sweep the sulphur dioxide and other toxins belched out of
China's smokestacks toward Hong Kong, said Lau.
But not all of Hong Kong's residents are worried about the
deterioration in air quality.
"I think the pollution is more or less the same. I can't say I think
about it too much," said Wong Wai Ming, a delivery man who spends
four to five hours outside each day.
MORE SMOG
Hong Kong has taken several steps to reduce pollution in the past
decade, including conversion of taxis to liquefied petroleum gas
(LPG). Air pollution readings are taken hourly and are a regular
feature of weather forecasts.
"For roadside pollution we've seen a significant improvement but
regional pollution seems to be deteriorating. There's more smog than
before," said Raymond Leung, principal environmental protection
officer.
Activists say the city's pro-business leaders are not doing enough.
They say the government should do more about idling vehicles and
introduce electronic road pricing to reduce congestion.
"I've heard of people saying that they will consider leaving Hong
Kong because of the bad pollution," said Edwin Lau, assistant
director of Friends of the Earth (HK).
"Tourism is a huge part of our economy and if the pollution deterred
tourists it would be a big loss," he added.
Electricity provider CLP Holdings, which steadily reduced its
emission of pollutants in the 1990s, reversed progress last year by
burning 50 percent more coal than in 2002 and cutting its use of gas,
a cleaner fuel.
Reserves in the South China Sea gas field on which it relied were
overestimated,. forcing it to burn more coal to meet rising demand
here and in China but CLP said it would maintain a balanced fuel mix
of coal, gas and nuclear in the long run.
Another problem in battling the smog is the thorny issue of
cooperation with China. Priorities in the former British colony,
where public concern over the environment has grown in recent years,
differ from those over the border.
China's leaders are aware of the environmental price of breakneck
growth but their main priority is to ensure a strong economy to help
ease a labor glut.
To reduce regional air pollution, Hong Kong and the Guangdong
provincial government have set a target to reduce emissions of
sulphur dioxide in the Pearl River Delta by 40 percent by 2010.
"It's a big challenge -- due to economic growth in the area there's
much higher demand for electricity," said Leung.
Copyright 2004 Reuters News Service. All rights reserved. This
material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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