Sustainable Living Hong Kong

Congratulations to Secretary for the Environment Edward Yau for having the courage to speak the truth; that is, we would have to pay more for our electricity and public transport if we are to get cleaner air.

He estimates the increases to be 20% for electricity because the power companies will have to raise the amount generated by gas turbines, and he believes bus fares will go up by 15% if the bus companies are required to phase out Euro I and Euro II buses by 2014.

Residents interviewed by the press generally appeared prepared to pay more for better health, which is the right angle from which to pitch the idea. If they were told you’d have to pay more to avoid catastrophic climate change, most of them would probably say: “I don’t care.” Sad, but true.

All the same, there is no dodging the issue, which, despite gloomy forecasts through the years, has not drawn the attention of governments until now, when the situation has got so bad there is no knowing whether we are already right on the edge of the ecosystem’s tipping point.

Unfortunately, Mr Yau’s proposals may not solve the air pollution problem, even discounting the effect of pollution from Guangdong factories from being blown our way (though the provincial government is doing something about that) and certainly won’t address the bigger problem of climate change in the long run.

Here are some reasons why natural gas is also a problem:

• It is a non-renewable resource that takes thousands if not millions of years to form and will run out.
• Natural gas reserves are unevenly distributed in the world. Most of the remaining reserves are in Russia and the Middle East; Asia, along with South America, Europe and Africa are each projected to contain less than 10 percent of what’s left. That means it will be very costly to obtain supplies, whether by building pipelines or by ship.
• Natural gas produces a smaller amount of carbon dioxide than coal, but its overall contribution to global warming is significant if the entire production and distribution process is taken into account.
• It may be worse for our health: gas-fired power plants emit fine particulates that are so small they can get past our body’s respiratory filters and end up deep in the lungs. It is therefore worth noting what Mr Yau said about the more stringent air quality objectives being proposed for Hong Kong, that they will be comparable to those adopted in Europe and the US, “except for respirable suspended particulates and fine suspended particulates.” Read the fine print!

So, even if the new buses run on electricity, we’d still have a problem. If we really want to cut down on pollution, we’d need a wholesale review of our urban planning strategy with an emphasis on cutting down the need for travel, which will reduce overall energy use and cut down on pollution much more effectively. No more new roads, no more planning models based on long-distance commuting, but policies to encourage the creation of local employment opportunities within districts, flexi-hour and working from home, as well as road pricing to get private cars that shouldn’t be on the road off the road.  And there must be more, much more investment in renewable energy, not token attempts that generate barely enough to power a few sunshades.

Gas-fired power and Euro V engines are only transitional solutions. How much time can they buy? By the time they were phased in, the world might have already exceeded the 2°C limit in temperature increase that those going to Copenhagen in December hope to maintain.