News
Mixed responses to Chief Executives air policy announcement
The announcement by Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen in his policy address that Hong Kong would adopt a set of World Health Organization (WHO) standards to replace the outdated Air Quality Objectives has sparked much interest in the media.
Quite a few items in the Hong Kong press pointed out that the standards being considered are Interim Level One (IL1) the most conservative of the several standards recommended by the WHO guidelines. Professor Wong Tze-wai of the School of Public Health at the Chinese University of Hong Kong suggested that IL1 is not the appropriate standard for an economy as developed as Hong Kong: Hong Kong is an international city and not a Third World nation. We have the technology, expertise and money but the government is seeking to adopt standards meant for developing nations. (The Standard, Clean air goal still Third World 17-Oct-08).
Similar sentiments were echoed by two professors from Hong Kong Universitys School of Public Health. The low tiers of interim targets are there to help poor countries with low levels of expertise move to an entry level not regions with a high gross domestic product and capable of making urgent radical interventions, wrote Professors Anthony Hedley and Wong Chit-ming in a recent letter to the editor of the South China Morning Post (25-Oct-08).
They added in the same letter that the current levels of pollution are associated with Hong Kongs high burden of avoidable illness, premature deaths and community costs due to health care and lost productivity: There will be no reduction of this burden without more stringent regulations.
The Environment Minister Mr Edward Yau Tang-wah is reported as saying, The administration will have to be cautious about the direction in which we head, the steps we take, and how quickly we take them. Thats what we are doing and what the public is asking us to do, (South China Morning Post, Clearing the air will take time and money, says environment chief 21-Oct-08).
News Archive
- 2009-05-22— Hedley Environmental Index reveals external costs of air pollution (update)
Originally posted Dec. 29 2008:
Civic Exchange has launched The Hedley Environmental Index (the Index), the worlds first website to quantify the external public health and monetary costs of air pollution in real-time. The address for the Index is
http://hedleyindex.sph.hku.hk
Named in honour of Professor Anthony Hedley, Chair in Community Medicine, Hong Kong University School of Public Health, the Index, plots real-time data on four specific pollutants from the Govern...
- 2009-03-18— Public opinion survey highlights unspoken concerns about air pollution & public health
In preparation for the Conference, Civic Exchange commissioned Professor Michael DeGolyer of Baptist Universitys Hong Kong Transition Project to conduct a public opinion survey on the Hong Kong communitys attitudes to air pollution and the impact to their health.
Entitled Silent Epidemic Public Opinion Survey on Air Pollution Environment & Public Health the report compared public attitudes in 2008 with those derived from a similar survey in 2001. The survey generated eight major...
- 2009-03-18— New Air Quality Objectives: Air your Views at 20th March Public Forum
On Friday 20th March the Environmental Protection Department will hold a public forum to seek the views of the public on their proposed Air Quality Objectives (AQOs). This is the next stage in a process to set new air quality objectives for Hong Kong that began in 2007, and is set to continue throughout this year and into 2010:
June 2007:
Consultancy for establishing New AQOs commences
October 2008:
Chief Executive announces adoption of Interim Target 1 of the...
- 2009-01-20— Sellout Conference Reflects Community Concern about Air Pollution
A sellout crowd of over 400 people attended Saturdays conference highlighted the deep concern, and interesting finding solutions to Hong Kongs air pollution.
The heavily oversubscribed event:
delivered an upto-date expert information on Hong Kongs situation,
introduced th Hedley Environmental Index http://hedleyindex.sph.hku.hk
introduced best practices in tackling pollution from overseas.
Most importantly, it provided an opportunity for ...
- 2008-12-19— Air Pollution makes vigorous exercise safe on 30 or less days per year
Hong Kongs average pollution levels are so high that in recent years there have been only about 30 days per year when it would be truly safe to do exercise, according to research carried out by public health experts from Hong Kong University.
This troubling assessment is based on the number of days and the amount by which Hong Kongs air pollution routinely exceeds the World Health Organisations Air Quality Guidelines. It also takes into account that exercise causes faster and ...
- 2008-12-15— All 16 monitoring stations report one or more pollutants exceed World Health Organization Guidelines
The Greenpeace Pollution Tracker reported that all 16 of the Air Quality Monitoring stations across Hong Kong recorded pollution levels that exceeded the World Health Organization (WHO) Guidelines for at least one of the four pollutants monitored.
Every station recorded excess Respirable Suspended Particles (RSPs) the most dangerous pollutant, with Causeway Bay the highest at 1.89 times higher than the WHO standard. This level of exposure poses a direct threat to public health, ...
- 2008-11-27— Mixed responses to Chief Executives air policy announcement
The announcement by Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen in his policy address that Hong Kong would adopt a set of World Health Organization (WHO) standards to replace the outdated Air Quality Objectives has sparked much interest in the media.
Quite a few items in the Hong Kong press pointed out that the standards being considered are Interim Level One (IL1) the most conservative of the several standards recommended by the WHO guidelines. Professor Wong Tze-wai of the School of...
Conference News Items (in chronological order)
- Hong Kong Discovery Magazine
Seeking Solutions to Air Pollution & Related Public Health Impacts
Mar/Apr 2009 Issue
- Deutsche Welle (Germany’s international broadcaster)
Overseas radio interview on 14 January 2009
Broadcasted at German time 5:15 pm on 26 January 2009
- AP television News
(interviewed on 8 December 2008)
- Clear The Air eNewsletter
Air Conference Event hosted by Civic Exchange
20 January 2009
- South China Morning Post
Youth speak truth on state of air quality
19 January 2009
- Hong Kong Journal
A chance to improve the environment—or an opportunity wasted?
16 January 2009
- Issue Post News Service (blog)
Hong Kong's Air Pollution Causes Some to Think Twice About Living There
15 January 2009
- VOA – Voice of America (blog)
Hong Kong's Air Pollution Causes Some to Think Twice About Living There
15 January 2009
- CAI – Asia on Google Groups (blog)
Civic Exchange conference seeks solutions to air pollution & health impacts
14 January 2009
- Environment and Nature (blog)
Hedley Index angers Hong Kong’s top green official, Edward Yau
12 January 2009
- Efficiency Freak (blog)
Hedley Index angers Hong Kong's top green official, Edward Yau
12 January 2009
- Clear The Air News Blog
Anger Grows Over Inaction On Air Pollution
11 January 2009
- Wen Wei Po
處理空氣污染 77%人不滿
11 January 2009
- South China Morning Post
Anger grows over inaction on air pollution
11 January 2009
- Green Grants (blog)
Air pollution makes exercise dangerous to health on 335 days per year
4 January 2009
- South China Morning Post
Despite high pollution readings, air is cleaner, government claims
3 January 2009
- Designing Hong Kong
The Air We Breathe, Forum, January 10
3 January 2009