Cross-boundary air pollution A case of PRD Cheung Oi Yi, Tiffany (5) Fu Ka Wing, Fanny (8) Koon Sau Yu, Suki (9) Lam Yan Ki, Adrienne (12) Tsoi Ni Ni, Winnie (21)

The Pan-PRD This is the map showing the area of the Pan-PRD

Serious cross-border air pollution The air quality of the region has been deteriorating rapidly. Many studies attributed this to the rapid economic growth and extensive urbanization of the region since the inception of China’s open door policy in 1978.

Causes of the poor air quality Electricity generation e.g. In 2003, the Shajiao Power Station in Dongguan(沙角電廠)(4,000 MW) emitted 90,000 tonnes of SO2, roughly a sixth of all SO2 emissions for the province Industry Let’s talk about the cause of the poor air quality. There are 4 main reasons: electricity generation, industry, road transport and navigation. For electricity generation…. Shajiao Power Station

Causes of the poor air quality Road transport major cause of street-level air pollution increased ownership of private and commercial vehicles. about one-fourth of the vehicles in HK use diesel fuel that is responsible for 96 per cent of RSP and 88 per cent of NOx vehicular emissions. canyon effect Navigation and civil aviation ocean-going vessels such as ferries and small private boats Ships use sulphur-heavy fuel (4.5 per cent) impact on air quality For road transport….

Evidence to show the deterioration of air quality in the PRD region annual averaged of no. of air pollutants 2003 2001 2002 Next, we have got evidence showing the deterioration of the air quality in the PRD region These figures show the annual average no. of air pollutants in the PRD. From the graph, we can find • Clear deterioration of air quality since 2001 • Worst in 2004 • 2005 and 2006 is slightly better and 2004, but much worse than 2003 or before 2006 2004 2005

Evidence to show the deterioration of air quality in the PRD region From the decline in visibility year by year, it can be seen that the air quality of Hong Kong is getting worse and worse. Compared to 1991, the proportion of low visibility hours caused by air pollution had a 2-fold increase in 2002. In the late 90’s, the proportion of low visibility hours caused by air pollution had a 9-fold increase in Shenzhen and 5-fold increase in Guangzhou compared to those in 1991 Frequency of visibility impairment in Hong Kong and selected cities in province Guangdong from 1991 to 2002.

Evidence to show the deterioration of air quality in the PRD region Hong Kong concentrations of particulates3 were high e.g. levels of fine particulates and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) regularly exceeded Hong Kong’s Air Quality Objectives throughout the 1999 air pollution can be found in rural areas in North New Territories and Yuen Long average number of air pollution exceedance days recorded in Guangdong and Hong Kong in 2006 was nearly 34% of the total number of days in the year, representing an increase of 2.19% compared with that of the year before. For HK…

Evidence to show the deterioration of air quality in the PRD region These photos show the scenes of Hong Kong with (right image) and without smog (left image). The scenes of Hong Kong with (right image) and without smog (left image).

Evidence to show the deterioration of air quality in the PRD region Guangdong HK manufacturing plants moved across the border ->worsened air quality Visibility in Shenzhen was 9 times worse in the 2000 than in 1991. The number of smoggy days reached 75 in 2006 across the province, up 20% from 63 days recorded in 2005 Guangzhou were between 2-4 times greater than the mainland national air quality standards For Guangdong….

Air quality in the PRD is under attack

Why are there cross-border air pollution? the “urban land-sea breeze circulation” effect a closed cycle that develops of vertical and lateral movement over the city hills and mountain ranges separating the PRD from its immediate Mainland neighbors localize the region’s pollution. the pollution is trapped until a stronger off-shore breeze blows the pollution to HK the air quality in HK is poorer in winter with offshore winds blowing from the Mainland to the sea. Now we will talk about the reasons for the problem and the mechanism behind. The “urban land-sea breeze circulation” effect. -Hill and mountain ranges separating the PRD from its immediate Mainland neighbours create amini-system and localise the region’s pollution -air pollution affecting Hong Kong remains confined to the region because of the effect of “urban land-sea breeze circulation”. -Pollutants are carried up and away from cities, but this phenomenon draws the pollutants back into Hong Kong, re-circulating them in a seemingly endless cycle – until a stronger off-shore breeze blows the pollution beyond the draw of recirculation. -Until this does occur, pollutants from different areas within the PRD can mix together and be brought into different urban areas in the re-circulation. The significance is that without stronger background winds to break the cycle, the pollution remains trapped, the “urban land-sea breeze circulation” effect

Adverse socio-economic impacts Social health problem Smog can irritate people’s eyes, nose and throat worsen existing heart and respiratory problems such as asthma researchers have equated breathing Hong Kong air to smoking at least eight cigarettes a day in terms of lost life expectancy Reduce visibility Let’s move forward to the adverse socio-econ. Impacts of the poor air quality Socially….

Adverse socio-economic impacts Reduce reputation as : an international travel destination a fitting host for major events, or a favored place of business for overseas companies Reduce competitiveness Research results reveal that visitors are conscious of air quality when selecting a destination Economically…

Possible solutions-cooperation Pearl River Delta Air Quality Management Plan The Joint Government 2010 Targets in 2002 several agreed actions to improve air quality. to reduce four key emissions by specific percentages from their 1997 levels by 2010. These were: There is cooperation between the HKSAR government and the governments in the PRD provinces. Firstly, they had a PRD air quality management plan and set the joint govt 2010targets in 2002 The table below show the target in reducing these few kinds of air pollutants by 2010.

Possible solutions-cooperation Pearl River Delta Air Quality Management Plan Building of a liquefied natural gas power generating plant in Guangdong decrease the reliance of PRD on polluting fuels desulphurization device will be installed in more power plants Other measures include…   Guangdong province will build a liquefied natural gas power generating plant so as to decrease the reliance of PRD on polluting fuels such as petroleum and coal. Also, desulphurization device will be installed in more power plants The power plant on the right emit less air pollutants after the implementation of desulphurization devices

Possible solutions-cooperation Pearl River Delta Air Quality Management Plan The Guangdong Province will fight for launching the National III (equivalent to the Euro III) automobile emission standard. For Hong Kong, starting from 2007 the Euro IV automobile emission standard will be launched The table below shows the Euro IV automobile emission standard that HK govt launched.

Possible solutions-cooperation Regional Air Quality Monitoring Network Regional Air Quality Index (RAQI) has been established to represent the air pollution level of the PRD to evaluate the effectiveness of air pollution control measures to provide the public with the information on the regional air quality every six months 16 monitoring stations have been set up The govts also adopted a regional air quality monitoring network to….

These are the 16 monitoring stations set up to record the air quality in the region

Possible solutions-cooperation Scheme for Trading Pollution Quotas Emissions Trading Pilot Scheme for thermal power plants in the PRD in 2007 by making use of market forces to provide greater flexibility for emission sources to meet the emission reduction requirements in a cost effective manner. aims : - to reduce the emission of air pollutants -decrease bureaucratic environmental control An Emissions Trading Management Panel is set up by both the governments to assist the management of the emissions trading among the power plants in the PRD Apart from this, they also had a scheme for trading pollution quota for example the Emissions Trading Pilot Scheme….

The importance of the regional cooperation Improving air quality requires concerted efforts by the governments, enterprises and the community in the two places. the emission reduction measures implemented in Guangdong and Hong Kong should improve the air quality of both places in the long run.  Finally, it is important for the two governments to cooperation as…. Actually, both governments had made efforts to improve their regional air qualities. But today we only focus on their cooperation and there should be some policy that they carried out.

The End!! Thank you! That’s the end for our presentation! Thank you:D