hong kong finds switch to cleaner fuels has flaws

But Hong Kong, one of the early leaders of the trend, said on Friday that Hong Kong\'s shift to production of light commercial vehicles almost entirely dependent on liquefied petroleum gas for the past decade had unintended consequences.
Nitrogen dioxide is one of the most important factors contributing to smog. From 2008 to 2012, the concentration of nitrogen dioxide in Hong Kong\'s air increased by fifth, and a team of local and international scientists has traced the cause back to LPG-
The Hong Kong environmental regulator said at a news conference that fuel vehicles.
Christine Loh, deputy environment minister, said the problem was with taxis and minibuses catalytic converters.
Unless an almost all-weather car and light bus are replaced every 18 months, the catalytic converter is contaminated and the vehicle starts to emit extremely high levels of pollution.
More clean liquefied petroleum gas vehicles are emitting very high levels of nitrogen, she said.
Although naturalgas-
Power vehicles have not been deployed on a large scale in Hong Kong, and they will cause the same problem, she added.
Therefore, the Hong Kong government will pay for the free replacement of the city\'s entire privately owned catalytic converter for approximately 18,000 taxis and thousands of small bus fleets in the coming months. Loh said. Pang Sik-
Wing, chief environmental protection officer for aviation science in Hong Kong, said the replacement would cost about HK $10,000, or $1,290 per vehicle.
After the first free replacement, the taxi and minibus owners will be responsible for replacing the catalytic converter at half their own expense each year.
Next year, five mobile sensor systems will be deployed in Hong Kong to measure contamination of passing vehicles and to send automatic notifications to registered owners of any vehicle that exceeds the emission standard, requiring them to accept vehicle repairs, otherwise there is a risk of losing a vehicle license.
We will strictly implement the emission standards and we will strictly implement the emission standards.
Ms. Pang said at a press conference on Friday morning. Loh.
The initiative comes a week after a large area of northeast China was in trouble due to heavy smog, schools were closed and motorists had to slow down and drive in turbid air.
Although smog is mainly related to coal consumption, cars have also played a role, especially diesel cars.
Burn heavy trucks
Cities across China have been seeking to alleviate the problem by quickly converting taxi fleets into LPG or CNG
Taxis sometimes have to wait an hour to refuel because there is no fast enough service station to build the necessary fuel. Ms.
Loh said that the Hong Kong government has informed Beijing about the difficulties encountered in the maintenance of catalytic converters here, and government officials are working to solve these problems.
Huang Boqiang, chairman of the Hong Kong Taxi Owners Association, said in another telephone interview that taxi owners in the city welcomed the free catalytic converter, but even without the help of the government, they would replace the emission control equipment. Cars with up-to-
He said that date-emitting equipment produces less black smoke, more power, and higher fuel efficiency.
10 years ago, after the Hong Kong government provided a subsidy of up to HK $40,000 (US $5,160) for liquefied petroleum gas, all but one of Hong Kong\'s 18,138 taxis burned liquefied petroleum gas, sir. Wong said.
The owner of a taxi insisted on using diesel, but he kept his reasons secret. Wong added.
The city\'s small buses are also converted into liquefied petroleum gas, and local taxes per gallon are much cheaper than other fuels.
Large buses in Hong Kong continue to use diesel, including picturesque double
Until Britain returned the territory to China in 1997, the decker bus has been the main public transport.
Charter bus operators have long refused to replace, believing that only diesel engines can push buses to steep hills in Hong Kong, while still providing enough power for strong air
During late spring, summer and early autumn, the air-conditioning system needs to withstand the heat.
The Hong Kong government is preparing to submit a bill to the Legislature setting a deadline for retirement of all old diesel
Electric vehicles that do not meet modern emission standards have so far been at the forefront of their compliance. Loh said.
The bill will set a date of death for each of these categories
This is not a voluntary programme, it is a mandatory one.
Air pollution in Hong Kong is often not as severe as in northern Chinese cities, but is still much worse than in the US or the EU.
Most of the pollution in Hong Kong is caused by factories on the Chinese mainland border. Since the city has 7 million people, it is part of the \"air cabin\" of more than 50 million people, covering a considerable area of the Pearl River Delta, Ms. Loh said.
She mentioned the air quality standards set by the World Health Organization in Geneva, adding that Hong Kong may be closed tomorrow and we will still not reach W. H. O.
Because we have emissions nearby.
A version of this article appears on page A6 of the New York edition with the title: efforts to clean Hong Kong Air have led to an increase in contaminants.
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