Pledges, Promises & Progams Likely To Have No Impact On Hong Kong's Foul Air
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Although much of the nasty stuff that poisons us the most is indeed pumped out here in our streets, Hong Kong also suffers from what we might call ambient pollution: the murky haze that rolls down from the great mainland industrial concentrations of the Pearl River Delta.
And when the wind's in the north, that smog is going to keep on coming, whatever Hong Kong does.
Unfortunately, all the Beijing government's efforts to encourage mainland officials to go green, all the incentives it gives to clean-energy investment, and all the subsidies it offers to zero-emission electric vehicles will make little difference. In fact, in the case of electric vehicles, generous subsidies could actually make the pollution worse.
The problem is the mainland's main source of energy is coal - and that's simply not going to change in the foreseeable future. Last year, the country generated just 2 per cent of its electricity from wind energy, 2 per cent from nuclear power, 15 per cent from hydroelectric stations, including the giant Three Gorges project, and 80 per cent the old-fashioned way by burning coal.
EDIT
http://www.scmp.com/business/article/1426234/even-hong-kongs-best-efforts-may-not-help-clear-our-air
