Hong Kong air quality standards could be tightened by 2025 in bid to prevent 3,150 premature deaths a year as pollution at its lowest in almost 3 decades

Authorities say stricter air pollution rules would also prevent 2,300 hospitalisations, 927,900 outpatient cases and save HK$275 million in medical costs every year

But lawmaker Frankie Yick says lower sulphur diesel fuel could be 40 per cent more expensive at the pumps and hit the livelihood of city’s seafarers

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Hong Kong authorities want to tighten air quality regulations to save lives, hospitalisations and money. Photo: Elson Li

Published: 10:48pm, 17 Oct 2023Updated: 12:30pm, 18 Oct 2023

Hong Kong air quality standards could be tightened by early 2025 in a bid to prevent more than 3,000 premature deaths a year and about a million hospital outpatient cases, environmental authorities have said.

Officials on Tuesday also proposed a further reduction in the sulphur content of diesel fuel for ships and industrial use.

The move would reduce sulphur dioxide emissions, a major source of air pollution that can irritate people’s eyes and respiratory systems.

“To continuously improve air quality and strengthen the protection of public health, we comply with Hong Kong law … to review air quality indicators at least once every five years to assess the extent of air quality improvement,” Undersecretary for Environment and Ecology Diane Wong Shuk-han told lawmakers.

Undersecretary for Environment and Ecology Diane Wong says Hong Kong’s air quality last year was at its best in almost three decades. Photo: Felix Wong

“Over the past two decades, we have been ramping up resources and efforts to promote and implement various emission reduction measures.