Green groups urge Hong Kong authorities to be more aggressive in setting air quality targets as 2-month public consultation starts
- Government proposes to tighten five air quality objectives and introduce three new parameters based on World Health Organization benchmarks
- It has kicked off a two-month public consultation on its latest review of air quality objectives
Environmental campaigners have appealed to the Hong Kong government to be more aggressive with its pollution-reduction targets as it kicked off a two-month public consultation on its latest review of air quality objectives (AQOs).
The government proposed to tighten five present AQOs and introduce three new parameters based on World Health Organization (WHO) benchmarks following assessments of a working group tasked with evaluating air quality improvement measures and setting targets to be met in 2030.
The Environment and Ecology Bureau will review AQOs every five years and put forward emission reduction measures to attain targets set under the global health agency’s air quality guidelines.
“The working group adopted scientific approaches to assess the situation of air quality in 2030. Having regard to the assessment results, the working group endorsed the proposal to tighten five prevailing AQOs and introduce three WHO [air quality guidelines] new parameters,” a bureau spokesman said.
The government added that Hong Kong’s air quality seen continuous improvement, with a more than 40 per cent to 60 per cent reduction in major air pollutants.
