Guangzhou: News yesterday that the Hong Kong chief executive C Y Leung plans to introduce mandatory emission controls on ships and has been in touch with his counterparts in Guangdong over the possible formation of a Pearl river delta emissions control area (ECA) has been greeted favourably in Guangzhou. The ECA would be the first in Asia and comes as pollution in China is very much back in the headlines.
“We are stepping up our efforts with the Guangdong Provincial Government in exploring the feasibility of requiring ocean-going vessels to switch to low-sulphur diesel while berthing in Pearl River Delta ports,” Leung revealed yesterday in his maiden policy address in Hong Kong.
"We have not got any notices from the government yet,” an official from Guangzhou Port told SinoShip News, “but this is a good thing for both sides, and building a green port is also our goal, and we have the responsibility and obligation to respond to the government's call to build a green port, and the development of a low-carbon economy."
An official from neighbouring Shenzhen Port commented: “We have been making efforts in energy conservation and emissions reduction. We have updated some port facilities into more eco-friendly ones. The ECA would require a joint effort, and we are looking forward to it.”
Arthur Bowring, managing director of the Hong Kong Shipowners Association welcomed the move. “We are pleased the chief executive is following up the regulations as we requested,” he told SinoShip News. “We would like the ECA to be set up and it would be viable if Beijing and Guangdong province will come online. It is certainly something we are aiming for.”[17/01/13]
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