Members of Greenpeace arrived yesterday at Hong Kong's CLP Power head office located on Argyle Street to call on CLP to put an end to its long-standing reliance on coal power generation.
By burning coal, Greenpeace says CLP has been polluting the air above Hong Kong and southern China, and the company has yet to set a definite timeline to develop technology for renewable energy.
"As one of the largest private power companies in Asia, CLP has continued to burn vast amounts of coal in Hong Kong and is also operating high emission coal-fired units to provide mainland China with electricity. In the process, it releases large amounts of sulphur dioxide (SO2), air pollutants like respirable suspended particulates (RSP), and greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2). Therefore, we are concerned that if CLP continues to deny its obligations to the environment and generate power from coal, and if it further delays the establishing plans to implement renewable energy to improve the air quality in Hong Kong, the health of Hong Kong residents may soon be like the withering roses," said Chow Sze Chung, Air Pollution Campaigner, Greenpeace China.
Outside the entrance of CLP's head office, Greenpeace members returned forty pollution-stricken roses in their own fake smoke vent.
Chow explains that the withering roses are a metaphor for the deteriorating health conditions of Hong Kong residents due to exposure to air pollution, and that Greenpeace's act symbolizes the return of the products of pollution to CLP and that the smoke vents must be blocked to prevent further release of pollutants.
The second phase of consultation in the Legislative Council regarding the Scheme of Control (SOC) is currently underway. Today, Legislative Councilor Albert Chan will move a motion for a debate in the Council about the contents of the SCO.
Chow believes that the debate over the SOC is not only a review of economic matters such as permitted return and energy price, but also a prime opportunity for the government to implement policy that would provide incentives for CLP to direct its efforts into developing renewable energy generation that would eventually eliminate the need for coal power.
