Submission to the Bills Committee on Air Pollution Control (Amendment) Bill 2024 of the Legislative Council

Clean Air Network (‘CAN’) is the only non-governmental organisation in Hong Kong focussed on air issues. We seek to achieve our vision ‘Clean Air for All’ in Hong Kong through constructive dialogue and integrating various resources.

Summary



To improve air quality to protect the health of the public, we make the following recommendations for the Legislative Council:

  • Setting even more stringent air quality objectives, in particular, 30μg/m3 or lower for nitrogen dioxide (averaged annually) and 120μg/m3 or lower for ozone (averaged over eight hours) (i.e. at least interim target two set by the World Health Organization (‘WHO’) for both pollutants);
  • Requesting the Administration to provide more information about the responses to the public consultation on the air quality objectives and justification for not proposing more stringent standards after the consultation exercise;
  • Adding the health of the public and WHO standards as factors to consider in the review of the air quality objectives explicitly in the Air Pollution Control Ordinance, Cap. 311 (‘Ordinance’);
  • Adding specific years by which the air quality objectives are to be met in the Ordinance; and
  • Requesting information from the Administration about the proposed negative vetting procedure if the Secretary for Environment and Ecology is empowered to amend the air quality objectives by notice published in the Gazette.


Revision of the Air Quality Objectives



We welcome the tightening of existing air quality objectives, as set out in the Air Pollution Control (Amendment) Bill 2024 (‘Bill’); however, we call for even more stringent standards, in particular for nitrogen dioxide (averaged annually) and ozone (averaged over eight hours). Specifically, we recommend 30μg/m3 or lower for nitrogen dioxide (averaged annually) and 120μg/m3 or lower for ozone (averaged over eight hours) (i.e. at least interim target two set by the WHO for both pollutants) [1]. It is imperative to set more stringent standards for the health of the public; the School of Public Health of The University of Hong Kong estimates that air pollution in Hong Kong has led to almost 3,500 premature deaths in 2024 [2]. Please see the appendix for our full submission on the air quality objectives in response to the consultation conducted by the Environment and Ecology Bureau on the matter in 2023.

The proposal in the Bill is the same as that made by the Environment and Ecology Bureau during the above-mentioned consultation exercise [3]. We understand from the Administration’s brief for the Legislative Council (EP 21/L3/1) that the consultation results demonstrated general public support. We invite the Administration to provide more quantitative and qualitative information about the public responses received, in particular, the number of responses supporting more stringent air quality objectives than those proposed by the Administration and their justifications. We also invite the Administration to explain why it has not decided to propose more stringent objectives after the public consultation exercise.

Factors to Consider in the Formulation of the Air Quality Objectives



Section 7A of the Ordinance provides that the Secretary for Environment and Ecology may review the air quality objectives to promote the conservation of air and the best use of air in the public interest. It does not explicitly include the health of the public or the standards set by the WHO as factors to consider in such reviews, as pointed out in the Citizen Clean Air Plan 2021, drafted by Clean Air Network with the support of five medical, patient and youth organisations [4]. The legal instruments in jurisdictions such as California, the European Union and Japan explicitly refer to the need to protect human/public health and/or consider WHO standards [5]. We recommend that the Ordinance be amended to include these factors explicitly.

Timeline for Meeting the Air Quality Objectives



Section 8 of the Ordinance provides that the air pollution control authority ‘shall aim to achieve the air quality objectives as soon as reasonably practicable and thereafter to maintain the quality so achieved.’ However, the Ordinance does not expressly stipulate a specific timeline for achieving the air quality objectives. In contrast, Singapore and the European Union specify the years by which the air quality targets should be met [6]. We recommend adding specific years for achieving the air quality objectives in the Ordinance.

Empowering the Secretary for Environment and Ecology to Revise the Air Quality Objectives by Notice Published in the Gazette



On the Administration’s proposal of empowering the Secretary for Environment and Ecology to revise the air quality objectives by amending Schedule 5 to the Ordinance by notice published in the Gazette, while we generally welcome initiatives to speed up the amendment process for the air quality objectives, there should be adequate checks to the Secretary’s powers. The Administration states in its brief for the Legislative Council (EP 21/L3/1) that the notice will be subject to the negative vetting of the Legislative Council. We request that the Administration provide more information about the procedure for such negative vetting, including whether members of the Legislative Council will have to propose a members’ bill, if so, whether such a bill is likely to meet the conditions for members’ bills set out in Article 74 of the Basic Law in the Administration’s opinion, and whether there is a prescribed time limit for the negative vetting.

December 2024

Reference
[1] Please see the annex here for easier reference: ‘Public consultation on Air Quality Objectives review launched,’ Hong Kong Government, 31 August 2023, https://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/202308/31/P2023083100287.htm.
[2] ‘Hedley Environmental Index,’ School of Public Health, The University of Hong Kong, accessed 30 December 2024, https://hedleyindex.hku.hk/en/historical-data.
[3] Note 1 above.
[4] The Citizen Clean Air Plan 2021 is supported by CHEST Delegation Hong Kong and Macau Limited, Hong Kong Lung Foundation, Hong Kong Society of Paediatric Respirology and Allergy, Hong Kong Thoracic Society and The Hong Kong Medical Association. Clean Air Network, Citizen Clean Air Plan 2021. See ‘Citizen Clean Air Plan 2021,’ Clean Air Network, 2021, https://hongkongcan.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Citizen-Clean-Air-Plan-2021_compressed_V2.pdf.
[5] ‘Multi-jurisdictional Comparative Study on Air Pollution Control Regulations,’ Clean Air Network and Linklaters, 2018, https://hongkongcan.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Multi-Jurisdictional-Comparative-Study-on-Air-Pollution-Control-Regulations_June-2018.pdf.
[6] Ibid.

Appendix

Response to Air Quality Objectives Review Public Consultation (August 2023)

The Air Pollution Control (Amendment) Bill 2024 and relevant papers can be found on the webpage of the Bills Committee.