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Hong Kong Government Plans to Improve City's Air Quality

| Jan 15, 2015 06:40 AM EST

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The government of Hong Kong has announced that they will increase their cooperation with authorities and Hong Kong-owned factories in Guangdong Province in order to improve the quality of air, said Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying on Wednesday.

The data gathered between 2010 and 2014 presented a steady improvement in the region's total air quality and the said improvement is anticipated for the coming years ahead.

"We also plan to allocate HK$150 million ($19.3 million) to extend the Cleaner Production Partnership Program to encourage Hong Kong-owned factories in Guangdong to adopt cleaner production technologies," he said.

The Hong Kong government is currently working side by side with Guangdong authorities to determine the feasibility of needing sea-going vessels positioned at the ports of Pearl River Delta to use cleaner fuels as an alternative, Leung said.

The government will also push through a legislation that would require non-road mobile machines supplied for local use, including generators and excavators, to abide by statutory emission standards.

Leung also mentioned that authorities will work with stakeholders as well as public and private organizations to nurture a low-carbon and livable environment to decrease Hong Kong's total demand for electricity.

In addition, he said that the city's three functional landfills would be full in five years' time, even if efforts are expanded to advocate waste reduction.

The addition of landfills and development of waste-to-energy facility are needed to address the problems with waste management.

An organic waste treatment facility that will turn waste from food to electricity is expected to be operational by 2017.

In regard to the conservation of energy, Leung stated that the Hong Kong government has set a goal that aims to reduce the consumption of electricity in government buildings by 5 percent over the next five years.

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