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Following is the speech by the Secretary for Environment, Transport and Works, Dr Sarah Liao, in moving the resolution to repeal the Air Pollution Control (Volatile Organic Compounds) Regulation in the Legislative Council today (January 17):
Madam President,
I move that the resolution as set out on the Agenda be passed. The resolution is to repeal the Air Pollution Control (Volatile Organic Compounds) Regulation, which was tabled for negative vetting at the Legislative Council meeting on November 29, 2006.
I feel obliged to emphasise here that this action does not signal any softening of the Government¡¯s firm commitment to tackle air pollution in accordance with our original time-table, the repeal is merely responding to the request by the Members of the Subcommittee of the LegCo to have more time for a more thorough discussion on the Regulation. I wish to reiterate that the Government intends to commit to the commencement date of the Regulation on VOC control on April 1. Let me take this opportunity to elaborate on the background to the making of this Regulation, and explain why controlling VOC is vital in cleaning up the air in Hong Kong.
VOCs, or volatile organic compounds in full, are gas substances emitted from motor vehicles and found in a wide range of products, including solvent-borne paints, printing inks and many consumer products. VOCs play a significant role in the formation of ozone and very small particles in the atmosphere called PM2.5, which are particles of a size smaller or equal to an aerodynamic diameter of 2.5 micron.
Under sunlight, VOCs react with nitrogen oxides to form ozone through a photochemical process. Ground level ozone is a highly reactive gas, and when in high concentration can irritate the eyes and bring upper and lower respiratory symptoms to healthy people. There is scientific evidence that prolonged exposure to high concentration of ozone may cause permanent damage to lung tissue and therefore interfere with functioning of the immune system.
Recent scientific study has shed light on the effect of the various tidy particle PM2.5. This particle can penetrate deeply into the lung and interfere with functioning of the respiratory system. In addition to affecting people¡¯s health, it also shapes people¡¯s perception of Hong Kong's environmental condition, since it scatters light and is the major component of smog that causes degradation in visibility.
To improve the air quality of the Pearl River Delta Region, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government and the Guangdong Provincial Government reached a consensus in April 2002 to reduce, among other air pollutants, the regional emissions of VOCs by 55% by 2010, using the emission levels at 1997 as a base. Achieving the emission reduction targets will enable Hong Kong to meet its current air quality objectives. This will also significantly improve the smog problem.
The Joint Study on Pearl River Delta Region Air Quality in 2002 has identified paints, printing industry, VOC-containing consumer products and motor vehicles to be the four major VOC sources in Hong Kong. Their respective shares are 30%, 13%, 24% and 25%, adding up to a total of 92% of the total VOC emissions in 1997.
The Government has been implementing a series of programmes to reduce VOC emissions. Legislation was enacted in 1999 to require petrol filling stations and petrol delivery vehicles to be equipped with vapour recovery systems to reduce VOC emissions during petrol unloading. The control was later extended to vehicle refuelling at petrol filling stations. To control VOC emissions from motor vehicles, we have been tightening the emission standards of motor vehicles in tandem with EU requirements. Through these measures, VOC emission in Hong Kong in 2005 was reduced by 26% as compared with 1997. However, we still need to take further action to reduce VOC emissions from paints, printing industry, and selected consumer products in order to achieve the 55% reduction target by 2010. These areas are so far unregulated, and the Regulation when implemented is estimated to further reduce local VOC emissions by 15% from the 1997 emission level.
Our objective is to devise a cost-effective and practicable scheme to control these emissions. Much effort has been made by the Government, the trade and the Legislative Council to achieve this. Let me recapitulate the developments to underline this point.
In September 2004, the Government launched a consultation on a two-stage control programme on VOCs. The first stage would be a mandatory registration, testing and labelling scheme for products containing VOCs. The consultation paper made it clear that the Government would consider whether and when to initiate the second stage control by way of statutory limits on the VOC content of products two years after the first stage control has been implemented.
During the initial public consultation in 2004, the affected trades raised a lot of concerns about imposing controls on their products. The LegCo Panel on Commerce and Industry and the Retail Task Force also voiced grave concern on the regulatory impact on the small and medium enterprises and their employees. To develop an effective scheme yet addressing the concerns of SMEs, we subsequently set up four working groups with the affected trades to explore on various options. We have met with trade associations, green groups, individual suppliers and retailers on more than 50 occasions. In addition, information was sought from overseas authorities, manufacturer, consumer and trade unions on their practices on VOC control. Consensus was reached by end of 2005, which forms the basis of the Regulation now being considered by the Legislative Council. Instead of labelling, the trade agreed to leap-frog to the second stage control directly on April 1, 2007 after the Administration agreed to adjust the scope of product coverage and impose liability only on importers and manufacturers, who are well placed to implement the requirements. Importers and manufacturers found to import or manufacture products breaching the Regulation are liable to a maximum fine of $200,000 and imprisonment of 6 months. As regards the retail sector, which comprises a substantial proportion of SMEs, the Air Pollution Control Ordinance already empowers the authority to ask for information on the origin of goods that are found to contain VOCs in excess of the limits specified under the Regulation. The information thus provided would enable enforcement action be undertaken under the Regulation against the importer or the manufacturer. Should the retailers fail to disclose information on importers or wholesalers of the goods they are selling will be liable to a maximum penalty of $50,000.
The current Regulation therefore represents a fine balance between the need to control VOC emissions and to avoid causing excessive hardship to the normal conduct of business and employment. The adoption of the very stringent VOC limits for these products will place Hong Kong among the handful of environmental regulatory authorities in the world with a comprehensive VOC control programme.
Specifically, the Regulation, when fully implemented, will help reduce about 8,000 tonnes of VOCs. Together with other policy measures, we are confident that the 2010 emission reduction target will be achieved on time to alleviate some of our smog problem.
Turning to the details, the Regulation covers products manufactured locally or imported - either by sole agents or parallel importers, for sale or consumption at the local market. The objective is to control these products at source. This will be most cost-effective. In the paper submitted to the Panel on Environmental Affairs on November 28, 2005, it was clearly stated that the Government did not propose to impose liability on retailers except that they should provide accurate information regarding the origin of products sold when required. Members of the Panel did not raise any objection then. In fact, the Administration was commended by Members for having taken on board the trades¡¯ views and made the control programme more practicable.
Now that the Regulation is tabled for negative vetting, some LegCo Members have brought up new issues and suggested that the regulatory regime and liability be extended to retailers. While we respect the wish to strengthen enforcement even further, we consider it inappropriate to introduce such a major policy change after extensive and full consultation with the trades and the Panel on Environmental Affairs. It will damage the trust amongst the trades, who gave consent to leap-frogging in good faith, the Administration and the Legislative Council. It will also inevitably delay this much-needed Regulation to improve our air quality, since it will take considerable time to consult the retail trades again and the outcome of such discussion will most likely be negative in view of deviation from the consensus previously reached. A more appropriate and prudent way forward would be to review the need for tightening up control after implementing the Regulation for a period of time.
When making her report at the House Committee on January 5, 2007, the Honourable Audrey Eu made it clear that the Subcommittee did not object in principle to the Regulation. The Subcommittee would also continue the discussion with the Administration with a view to having an improved Regulation in place before April 1, 2007, i.e. the original commencement date of the Regulation. We welcome this commitment and the Administration will make our best efforts to ensure that the Regulation will be implemented on time without any further delay.
Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Chairman and all Members of the Subcommittee for their time and efforts in examining this Regulation. I believe that in spite of our differences on some technical issues, both the Council and the Administration remain firmly committed to improving our air quality in a timely manner.
Thank you, Madam President.
Ends/Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Issued at HKT 17:05
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