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October 30, 2006
Air Pollution in Asia-The Tipping Point Is Reached
I am on a six city tour of our Asian offices. I am writing from Tokyo, the half-way point of the journey. There is no doubt that Asia is on the move. Singapore, Hong Kong and Tokyo all demonstrate incredible vitality and prosperity. The one serious negative aspect of the trip was the near-universal despair about the degradation of the air quality in Hong Kong.
The air in Hong Kong is now 40% dirtier than in Los Angeles, the most polluted city in North America. It is twice as polluted as London, nearly three times as polluted as New York City and Paris. About 43% of the days in Hong Kong have average or poor air quality. Long term health effects are expected for over half of the residents due to persistent exposure. After a man died just after running in the Standard Chartered Marathon in Hong Kong on February 12, the local newspaper, the South China Morning Post reported that "foul air put runners at risk, experts say."
This downward trend is having an effect on the city's ability to attract and retain top talent. An American Chamber of Commerce survey done over the summer indicated that 60% of 140 senior executives of multinationals said they were very worried about the effect of pollution on their health. Eighty percent said they knew somebody who had left Hong Kong or was considering relocation because of air pollution. According to ECA International, Hong Kong dropped from 20th to 32nd place from 2004 to 2006 as the best location in the world for Asians to live, while Singapore maintained its #1 position.
What's going on here? Simply stated, it is a toxic combination of economic growth and old style political paralysis in the face of entrenched interests. The boom in Southern China has caused a tremendous rise in pollution from factories in the Pearl River Delta. According to a local NGO, Civic Exchange, "Due to Guangdong's electricity shortfall, experts estimate that up to 90% of factories run their own generators, many of which use high sulfur fuels...On typical wind flow days, pollution from Guangdong contribute 70% of emissions...in part coming from regional power plants." Most of the power in Southern China and Hong Kong comes from coal, a more polluting source than nuclear or natural gas. Manufacturing in Guangdong accounts directly and indirectly for 2/3 of all coal burned in the region. There are 70,000 Hong Kong owned or managed plants in Guangdong.
The response by the local government has been weak. In July, the Chief Executive Donald Tsang promised to fight air pollution, noting the threat to health of the city's residents. His words were not matched by immediate action; he commissioned an 18 month study of air quality objectives that would not be implemented until 2009. The present standard for sulfur dioxide is twice as high as the European Union, 50% higher than for China and three times higher than the State of California. Add to this government paralysis a Kafka-like regulation for the local electric utility, CLP Power, which is seeking approval of a Liquid Natural Gas facility on an island now deemed a protected area by the Government. The utility cannot make its case for the receiving terminal to the public without forfeiting its right to avoid a possible two year litigation in the courts.
I am sorry this is such a long post. I love Hong Kong and am frustrated by the situation. A few of the solutions broached by NGOs are:
However, we also can't forget that environmental challenges don't observe national or regional borders. So on a global level, one inexcusable irony that must be addressed is that despite (or because of) the environmental state of affairs in China, current emissions standards for new automobiles in China is HIGHER than US regulations, which have effectively remained constant for close to two decades. Also, on-the-ground solutions can only come from discovery and innovation and as the New York Times reports this morning, "... [US] federal spending for all energy research and development - not just the research aimed at climate-friendly technologies... has sunk to $3 billion a year in the current budget from an inflation-adjusted peak of $7.7 billion in 1979."
Most important of all, the residents of the city must band together and increase the public pressure for change. The status quo is eroding the city's attractiveness as a regional business hub while endangering the health of its citizens. I would appreciate your views on this subject.
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Posted by Edelman at October 30, 2006 10:23 AM |
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Comments
I speak as a Hong Kong native, an American college student and a former Edelman intern in Sydney when I wholeheartedly agree with these aforementioned ideas.
I spent two months in Hong Kong this summer and had difficulty breathing whenever I stepped outside for more than half an hour. With a relatively robust respiratory system, I think my case is one of countless examples on how Hong Kong's air quality degradation inhibits the health and daily routines of each individual.
Indeed, residents banding together to increase public pressure for change is the solution with the greatest potential impact. However, in such geographically small city bombarded with multi-faceted pressures, any significant change on part of its residents requires the strong leadership of both the local government and multinational corporations. It's become much too big of a problem for any single sector to tackle alone -- the region's air quality will improve only if the government, the private sector and the people work together. That much has been established. The question is, how successfully will this notion be embraced and implemented before more severe detriments take hold of Hong Kong? More importantly, can we please start this effort yesterday?
Posted by: Debbie Chin at November 1, 2006 5:03 PM
I lived in Hong Kong for 7 years. I had a great time there, but left 2 years ago mainly because of the increasingly poor air quality.
I have a young family and I was worried about how it would effect their long-term health. I would only consider going back if the air quality dramatically improved.
It's a shame to see such a dynamic and beautiful city going down hill so rapidly because of pollution.
Posted by: Maurice at November 6, 2006 9:47 AM
Hello,
First of all sorry for my very bad english.
My name is Elena and I'm an estudent of the university of Tarragona (near Barcelona. Spain). I'm studing Public Relations and these blog is been analised by me because one of my teachers said my that is a very good blog written by the director of one of the largest public relations firm.
Go on!
Elena
Posted by: Elena at November 8, 2006 12:13 PM