Public consultation on Air Quality Objectives review launched
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Hong Kong's air quality has been improving continuously, with over 40 per cent to 60 per cent reduction in major air pollutants and a great enhancement of visibility over the past decade. Hong Kong's air quality in 2022 was also the best since the return to the motherland.
To continuously improve air quality and better protect public health, the Government has all along been actively putting forward and implementing various emission reduction measures, as well as reviewing the AQOs at least once every five years in accordance with the law. The Government will assess the progress in improving air quality and make reference to the World Health Organization's WHO Global Air Quality Guidelines (AQGs) as the benchmark to aid in deciding the AQOs for the next five-year period.
Hong Kong's prevailing AQOs took effect on January 1, 2022. In the same year, the Government set up an AQOs Review Working Group (Working Group) to undertake a series of assessments and discussions to evaluate air quality improvement and set the AQOs to be attained in 2030. The Working Group comprised some 20 external members from the air science field, environmental groups, professional bodies, business associations and relevant trades, as well as representatives from related government bureaux and departments. The Government will report the findings of the review to the Advisory Council on the Environment in September and also report the outcome of the public consultation to the Panel on Environmental Affairs of the Legislative Council (LegCo) by end of this year with a view to introducing the relevant amendment bill to the LegCo in 2024.
"The Working Group adopted scientific approaches to assess the situation of the 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 AQGs' new parameters (as shown in the Annex). The Government will make the final recommendations after taking into account the outcome of the public consultation," a spokesman for the EEB said.
The EEB will arrange two public consultation forums to brief the public on the work and findings of the review of the AQOs and garner their views. Details of the forums are as follows:
| Date | September 20 (Wednesday) | September 26 (Tuesday) |
| Time | 7pm to 9pm | |
| Venue | Ming Hua Hall, 4/F, St. James' Settlement, 85 Stone Nullah Lane, Wan Chai |
Auditorium, 1/F, Christian Family Service Centre, 3 Tsui Ping Road, Kwun Tong, Kowloon |
| Language | Cantonese with simultaneous interpretation in English and Putonghua | |
Seating at the two forums is reserved on a first-come, first-served basis. Members of the public who would like to attend may complete the registration form on the dedicated website of the public consultation (aqoreview.hk), or submit the completed registration form to the EEB by email (aqoreview@eeb.gov.hk), fax (2838 2155), or post (Air Policy Section 1, EEB, 33/F, Revenue Tower, 5 Gloucester Road, Wan Chai, Hong Kong).
The public consultation will end on October 31, 2023. Members of the public are invited to download the consultation document and submit views through the dedicated website.
Ends/Thursday, August 31, 2023
Issued at HKT 12:00
Issued at HKT 12:00
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