Asia/Pacific News
Protest Staged Against Hong Kong's Shelving of Shore Power at Kai Tak Terminal
The Clean Air Network (CAN) Monday said it staged a protest against the Hong Kong government's decision to temporarily shelve a shore power installation at the country's Kai Tak Cruise Terminal.
The protest, which took place against the Environment Bureau, comes before Tuesday's report on the matter by the government to the Legislative Council's Panel on Environment.
"They performed a silent sit-in around an installation 'Death Tower,' symbolizing the death tolls due to emission from cruise ships," said CAN.
Dr. Kenneth Chan Ka-lok, representative of CAN and vice-chairman of the Legislative Council's committee on environmental affairs, denounced the move as a lack of commitment to protect public health.
Sum Yin Kwong, CEO of CAN, commented: "The social benefits of installing Onshore power supply outweighs the cost of its construction."
"Given the proximity of the pollution source from Kai Tak to the Kowloon East residents, the government should install onshore power supply at once to protect their health."
CAN says air pollution is responsible for 2,616 premature deaths and $32.657 billion in lost dollars annually, and that shore power can reduce the premature death toll caused by air pollution by 42 and save $523 million annually.
CAN also says the government should impose a 0.1 percent sulfur cap for marine fuel inside Hong Kong waters.
When plans for the terminal's shore power were put on hold last week, it was noted that out of the 60 cruise terminals in the Asia Pacific region, only five ports were considering on-shore power supply in the coming five to 10 years, and only 35 international cruise ships would be equipped with on-shore power systems by the end of this year.
Last month the president and CEO of the South Carolina Ports Authority, James Newsome, called shore power "a last-generation solution," prompting several industry players to voice support for the technology.
