A feasibility assessment of the application of the Polluter-Pays Principle to ship-source pollution in Hong Kong

This article aims to assess the feasibility of applying the Polluter-Pays Principle (PPP) to its fullest measure in counteracting ship-source pollution in Hong Kong (HK). Ship-source pollution is of chief concern for HK[U+05F3]s marine environmental protection. A comprehensive legal and policy framework has already been established to control and remedy ship-source pollution; nevertheless, the costs of implementing measures under this framework are largely undertaken by the government or through the public avenue, leading to an inconsistency with PPP, which is a principle rooted in HK environmental policy. Through an intensive literature review and questionnaire survey, the results of this study have revealed that the adequacy and/or effectiveness of the existing legal and policy framework for controlling and remedying ship-source pollution are questionable. In addition, despite varied understandings of PPP, the industry also supports the adoption of innovative legal and policy measures to apply PPP to its fullest measure in order to better control and remedy ship-source pollution. These findings provide useful evidence, and enable meaningful reflection on the existing legal and policy framework covering ship-source pollution.