Cleaning the air, generally improving the environment and turning the Pearl River Delta region into a green and quality living area are all on Chief Executive Donald Tsang's to-do list.

The government is now reviewing the air-quality objectives, Tsang said during his policy address yesterday. Given that electricity generation is a major source of pollution in Hong Kong, he was concerned with ways to reduce coal-fired power generation and promote the use of cleaner fuel, perhaps by increasing the amount of natural gas used for power generation to 50 percent.

As buildings account for 89 percent of the total power consumption in Hong Kong, the government will push for the mandatory compliance of Building Energy Codes to improve energy efficiency in new and existing buildings as soon as possible.

To further promote energy efficiency and conservation, and to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, he said, the government plans to implement a district cooling system at the new Kai Tak Development to supply chilled water to the area for centralized air-conditioning.

Also, the government will present to the Legislative Council a final proposal requiring all idle engines to be shut off. The plan, officials say, would ideally be introduced by the end of the year and implemented next year.

In addition, the government will also study ways to restrict the more-polluting pre-Euro and Euro I vehicles from entering heavy traffic zones. The government has accepted the proposal of the Council on Sustainable Development and will draw reference from the World Health Organization's latest air-quality guidelines, as well as the latest evidence and data of the negative impact of air pollution on people's health.The review of air-quality objectives will likely be completed by the end of the year.

Conservancy Association campaign manager Peter Li said the group was pleased that the government has finally expressed a willingness to catch up with international air-quality standards. He also agreed with striving for green, quality living area in the Pearl River Delta, but he hoped there would be concrete measures.

However, Green Peace said the policy address neglected the roadside pollution problem. In this connection, it asked the government to replace its diesel vehicles with regular gasoline ones as soon as possible.

(HK Edition 10/16/2008 page1)