Anyone who has tried grabbing hold of a wet bar of soap will have some sympathy for Civic Party legislative councillor Audrey Eu Yuet-mee, who has been trying to get the government to live up to its commitments and say when it intends to introduce the new air quality objectives.

These set benchmarks for the limits on the four major pollutants in the air – sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds and respirable particulate matter. If pollutants breach these levels then they have an impact on public health. Hong Kong’s air quality objectives are frequently breached and are out of date. Although the government came up with new objectives two years ago, it won’t implement them. Eu has pursued this matter with both Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen and Environment Secretary Edward Yau Tang-wah.

We reported last week that Tsang told her that the new objectives would be introduced by the end of this year but her discussions with the Environment Bureau indicated that no time had been allocated in the Legislative Council. Eu pressed Yau in Legco last Thursday for an answer during a debate on the chief executive’s policy speech. Yau ducked the question, would not give a date and made no promises, saying only that air quality had improved. So eithe someone is lying or there’s been administrative incompetence.

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The capital’s meteorological bureau issued its first heavy fog alert of the winter on Sunday, as low visibility forced the closure of six highways and caused delays or cancellations to more than 200 flights to or from the city.

But although it is called a “fog alert”, Ma Jun, director of the Institute of Public and Environment Affairs, said the hazes that have been smothering Beijing are really “smog”.

According to the Air Pollution Index released by the Ministry of Environmental Protection, which monitors the air quality of 120 key cities and municipalities, the capital topped the list of the worst polluted cities across China on Sunday.

S. Ming Sung, chief representative for Asia-Pacific at the Clean Air Task Force, a United States-based nonprofit organization dedicated to reducing atmospheric pollution, told China Daily that the firing up of the city’s heating and the large number of vehicles on the roads have contributed to the heavy smog.

Not only Beijing is suffering foggy days, the National Meteorological Center of China issued a heavy fog alert on Sunday for Tianjin municipality, Hebei province, Henan province, Shandong province, Anhui province and Jiangsu province, warning that some areas may have visibility of only 200 meters and suggesting people in fog-affected areas cancel outdoor activities due to the poor air quality.

To read the full article, click here.

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Air pollution in Beijing reached “hazardous” levels on Monday, the US embassy said, as thick smog blanketed the city for the third day running, forcing the closure of highways and cancellation of flights.

A “hazardous” rating by the US embassy, whose evaluation of the city’s air quality often differs markedly from the official rating, is the worst on a six-point scale and indicates the whole population is likely to be affected.

The embassy has rated Beijing’s air quality as hazardous on several occasions this month. On October 9, the reading was listed as “beyond index”, meaning it went above measurable levels.

By contrast, China’s environment ministry said Beijing’s air was just “slightly polluted” on Sunday – the most recent data available – sparking a debate in China’s state-run media and on the internet.

Even the usually nationalist Global Times newspaper on Monday demanded an explanation for the disparity, urging the government to “be co-operative in avoiding confusing information” about air pollution.

“Figures by some local governments show the air pollution index is dropping in some cities, such as Beijing… But some Beijing citizens complain the figures do not match their experience,” it said in an editorial.

To read the full article, click here.

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Hong Kong emerged as the worst offender for emissions of the toxic pollutant nitrogen dioxide among major cities in the Pearl River Delta region, according to the latest report on regional air quality.

Jointly presented by the environmental protection authorities of Guangdong and Hong Kong, the report showed the region’s air quality got slightly worse in the first half of the year compared with the same period a year ago.

In a joint exercise since November 2005, readings of concentrations of major pollutants – sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, ozone and respirable suspended particulates – have been taken daily at 16 monitoring stations set up in 10 cities in the region. Three stations are in Hong Kong.

Tsuen Wan station in Hong Kong recorded the highest concentration of nitrogen dioxide – which causes lung damage – between January and June, with an average 0.076 milligrams per cubic metre. The second worst was Huijingcheng in Foshan , at 0.06mg per cubic metre, followed by Tung Chung in Hong Kong at 0.059mg per cubic metre.

To read the full article, click here.

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Those concerned with Hong Kong’s awful roadside pollution may have been heartened by the chief executive’s undertaking on RTHK last week to implement the territory’s long delayed new air quality objectives (AQOs).

AQOs are supposed to be the benchmark for an acceptable level of air quality. Hong Kong’s current AQOs were established in 1987 and are now hopelessly outdated, but the Environment Bureau nevertheless continues with its daily farce of producing an air pollution index based on these AQOs, which are way below World Health Organisation guidelines.

So when the bureau says roadside pollution is “severe” or very high – as it frequently is – you can assume the level is horrendous.

When the chief executive was questioned last week by Erica Chan Fong-ying, Clean Air Network (CAN) spokesperson, about the delay in implementing new AQOs for Hong Kong, he said they would be introduced in the Legislative Council for discussion before the end of this year. “I hope that the law will be enacted, and I will try my very best to have them enacted, by the end of my term of office,” said Tsang, who steps down in June next year.

However, these appear to be weasel words since, according to an e-mail from CAN, they differ significantly from what Legco-member Audrey Eu Yuet-mee was told during a meeting with the bureau. She says she was told by Anissa Wong Sean-yee, permanent secretary for the environment, that the AQOs will not be discussed until “the second half of next year”.

In an e-mail from Eu to CAN, she wrote, “In other words [new AQOs will not be introduced] within this Legco term. I asked whether there was any legislative slot for new AQOs and the answer was, no.”

CAN comments in its e-mail, “Empty and disingenuous words appear to be an ingrained habit of the chief executive,” while noting that two years have passed since the government proposed new AQOs to the public for consultation.

The government was criticised by the Ombudsman in May for dragging its feet in implementing new AQOs, and Tsang promised then that new AQOs would be in place by the end of the year. That promise looks hollower by the day.

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Time and date: 10 AM – 5 PM. Saturday, November 26th, 2011
Starting point: To be confirmed
Language: English
Eligibility: Youths 13 to 18 years of age. Each team will be made up of two participants.
Suggested donation: Minimum $100 to cover the costs of the Race.
Prizes: Include a set of iPod touches, a pizza making party at PizzaExpress and much more!
PLUS each participant will receive a voucher to PizzaExpress valued at $100 just for taking part!
Application deadline: Friday, November 11th, 2011

The Airmazing Race is a challenge-based scavenger hunt. Participants will have to fulfil a certain number of modules in order to complete the Race. The modules will be scattered all over Hong Kong. Participants must utilize modes of transport that emit no roadside pollution (e.g. MTR, tram, etc.) to get from place to place. Modules will include activities such as an obstacle course to grab “Fresh Air,” a mock-game show and building lungs out of black balloons. Full details of each module and clues on where to find them will be disclosed in a packet that will be given to each participant on the day

The application form can be downloaded here. Each team must submit two separate forms, one for each participant. Those who have participated before cannot take part again.

Applications must be submitted via email to info@hongkongcan.org or faxed it to 3971 0374 by Friday, November 11th, 2011. To make your donation on-line, click here.

Spaces are available on a first-come first-serve basis. Successful applicants will be notified via email before November 18th.

We are also looking for volunteers to help out on the day! Please email info@hongkongcan.org or call 3971 0106 if you would be interested, or if you have any questions about the event. We look forwards to seeing you there!

Below is a clip of the last Airmazing Race, held in June 2011. You can also join The Airmazing Race 2 Facebook event page to keep up with all the latest Airmazing Race news!

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(October 19th 2011) This morning, when questioned on RTHK about the delay in implementing Hong Kong’s new Air Quality Objectives, Chief Executive Donald Tsang replied that new standards would be introduced for discussion in the Legislative Council by the end of this year.

When questioned by Clean Air Network spokesperson, Erica Chan, Tsang said, “I hope that the law will be enacted, and I will try my very best to have them enacted, by the end of my term of office,” which will be in June 2012.

CAN is skeptical of Tsang’s sincerity in light of Legislative Council member Audrey Eu’s account of her meeting this week with the Environment Bureau including Secretary for the Environment Edward Yau. During the meeting, when queried by Eu, Anissa Wong, [Permanent Secretary for the Environment] replied that the AQOs will not be tabled until “the second half of next year.” In an email from Eu to Clean Air Network, she wrote, “In other words [new AQOs will not be introduced] within this Legco term. I asked whether there was any legislative slot for new AQOs and the answer was, no. The only legislative slot for [the ENB] is for asbestos. “

The lack of a discussion slot for the new AQOs clearly indicates that Tsang’s words this morning were just more hot air. Despite his earlier promise to announce new AQOs for Hong Kong by the end of 2011, made during a May 19th Legislative Council session, Tsang made only a disappointingly small mention of the Air Quality Objectives.

Empty and disingenuous words appear to be an ingrained habit of the Chief Executive. The new Air Quality Objectives, non-binding maximum guidelines for seven specific air pollutants, are crucial for setting air quality policy which can protect public health and improve Hong Kong’s air pollution situation. Two years have passed since the government first proposed new Air Quality Objectives to the public for consultation, but concrete steps towards implementation have yet to be made.

As a sign of CAN’s desire for new AQOs, CAN launched an interactive animation of Tsang showing his lungs tethered to a ticking time bomb. The detonation is set for the last day of 2011, since Tsang himself stated publicly on May 19th that the city would have new AQOs by the end of this year. To view the animation, click here.

To listen to the entire RTHK question and answer session this morning, click here, under “Chief Executive Phone-in.”

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• $180 million for trialing 36 electric hybrid buses;
• $150 million for funding catalytic converters for taxis and light buses;
• a statement of intention to jointly tackle marine pollution with PRD authorities, including the establishment of a regional emission control area.

While some of these measures signal progress on the clean air front, Clean Air Network, Hong Kong’s leading clean air NGO, was disappointed at the Chief Executive’s failure to announce new Air Quality Objectives, which are non-binding maximum guidelines for seven specific air pollutants.

In July 2009, the government announced its intention to overhaul Hong Kong’s air quality standards, called Air Quality Objectives, along with a slew of measures intended to achieve these new tighter standards. It is now more than two years later and the CE has mostly failed to act on this agenda, with almost none of this pollution plan yet implemented. What’s more, our air pollution continues to worsen to the detriment of Hong Kong’s residents, especially children and the elderly.

To signal its frustration about the lack of new AQOs, Clean Air Network launched an interactive animation of Tsang today. In the image, which can be accessed at http://www.hongkongcan.org/chi/archives/7947, Tsang’s lungs are tethered to a ticking time bomb. The detonation is set for the last day of 2011, since Tsang himself stated publicly on May 19^th 2011, that the city would have new AQOs within this year.

During Donald Tsang’s tenure (2005-2012),

• 6,434 people have died from air pollution, according to the most conservative estimate from the Hedley Environmental Index;
• roadside pollution conditions in Hong Kong worsened considerably, with annual average concentrations of NO₂ increasing from 96 micrograms per cubic meter in 2006 to 111 micrograms per cubic meter in 2009, (the WHO’s recommended level of annual average concentrations of NO₂ is 40 micrograms per cubic meter);
• Hong Kong’s reputation as a magnet for human capital has taken a battering, with professionals increasingly considering departing from the city due to air pollution: a 2010 Civic Exchange survey showed that one in four people are considering relocation, up from one in five people in a similar survey conducted in 2009;
• in a similar vein, Hong Kong’s reputation as an attractive place to live has taken a beating, with Singapore now consistently outranking Hong Kong in terms of desirability. As of March 2010, leading human resources consulting firm ECA International has ranked Singapore above Hong Kong, in terms of offering the best living environment for Asian assignees, for eleven years in a row. Hong Kong’s severe air pollution is cited as the dominant contributing factor.

The only thing worse than Hong Kong’s deteriorating air quality is the government’s continued action and failure to recognize the magnitude of this public health crisis.

In January 2011, a Clean Air Network survey of residents from Hong Kong’s poorest district, Sham Shui Po, showed that 78% of district residents believe that air pollution is directly harming their health. That survey was an accurate bellwether of public sentiment about Hong Kong’s air quality and shows how much the public’s thinking has progressed in recent years. Whereas air pollution and its damage to health were considered the exclusive concern of wealthy expats for many years, the health impacts of air pollution are now much more widely known by the public, leading every sector of society to clamour for more aggressive clean air measures.

Even though today’s announcement of some new anti-pollution measures does constitute progress, the cornerstone of any new clean air regime is still missing. The continued delay on the new AQOs leads us to question whether Donald Tsang, despite purchasing an air purification machine for his own personal use, understands the link between air and health.

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Air quality in the capital plunges to one of its worst levels since before the Olympic Games.

Dense, choking smog has blanketed Beijing over the past week, with the capital’s air quality at the weekend plunging to one of its worst levels since before the Olympics three years ago.
It was so bad at one point on Sunday night that a pollution reading from the US embassy described it as “beyond index”, meaning that it exceeded the upper limit for a “hazardous” day by US standards.

But figures by the central government indicated that the air was only slightly polluted, despite poor visibility throughout the city due to the thick haze, which frequently hangs over the capital.

Although there were no reports of the pollution causing disruptions at outdoor sporting events on Sunday, including the China Open women’s tennis final and the final stage of the inaugural Tour of Beijing cycling race, local meteorological officials issued a rare warning advising residents to avoid going outdoors, citing health hazards.

According to the hourly pollution data published on Twitter by the US embassy, levels of PM2.5, or particles smaller than 2.5 microns, surged past 500 micrograms per cubic metre against a maximum rating of 500 between 8pm and 10pm on Sunday.

Mainland authorities, who insist that Beijing’s air quality has improved steadily with the city’s decade-long pollution-control efforts, have frequently been embarrassed by the embassy’s shocking pollution readings, which stand in stark contrast to those released by the city.

To read the full article, click here.

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• aggregate fleet emission caps in order to speed up the uptake of cleaner buses or, alternatively, renewing the franchise agreements contingent on the transition to a Euro V or higher bus fleet before the end of 2016;
• penalties on bus companies should they fall short of the environmental objectives outlined in their franchise agreements;
• and establishment of an inspection scheme to ensure proper maintenance of the vehicles according to the standards of their engine generation.

You can read a detailed account of CAN’s recommended measures below:

TO: Bus and Railway Branch, Transport Department
FROM: Clean Air Network
DATE: 30 September 2011

RE: Renewal of Franchise Bus Agreements

In July 2009, Secretary of the Environment, Edward Yau, stated that the majority of roadside emissions come from “buses”, making environmental safeguards an indispensable component of any forward-thinking revision of the government’s renewal of its agreements with the franchised bus companies.

Forty percent of Hong Kong’s roadside pollution originates from buses. The major pollutants they emit are nitrogen oxides and particulate matter, which affect the health and lung function of citizens. Current standards for Hong Kong’s franchised bus licensing do not include environmental considerations. In the meantime, 75% of buses on Hong Kong’s roads are equipped with Euro II or older engines; only 1-5% of buses meet the current cleanest engine standards. The oldest diesel engines (Euro II are below) are 34 times dirtier than the newer, cleaner engines (Euro VI and above).

Traffic pollutants, specifically particulate matter and nitrogen oxide, have been shown to increase risk of lung cancer and the risk of mortality from lung cancer. Two hours of exposure to high levels of roadside pollution increase a person’s heart rate, upping their risk of having a heart attack for up to six hours afterwards. Studies have also found that living within 100 to 150 meters from highways and major roadways exacerbates, and can cause, asthma and increase the risk of bronchiolitis and pneumonia in children. Finally, roadside pollution can even affect the brain, causing depression, memory loss and slowed motor function.

As the city’s leading NGO on the issue of air pollution and health, Clean Air Network advocate the adoption of the following measures, which would go some way to significantly abating the emissions attributable to franchised buses and their operation:

1. In order to speed the uptake of cleaner buses, being Euro V or higher and including hybrid and electric technologies, the determination and imposition of aggregate fleet emissions caps, effective beginning, whichever s earlier, 2015 or whenever it becomes practically feasible to meet those caps in light of current vehicle technologies; OR, alternatively, making the renewal of franchise bus agreements contingent on the transition to a Euro V or higher bus fleet before the end of 2016.

2. Financial rewards and penalties related to 1., should bus companies’ emissions or phase-out progress exceed or fall short of the environmental objectives stated in their franchise agreements;

3. Per a paper authored by Michael Edesess of City University and published by think tank, Civic Exchange, in July of this year, attached to the submission, one of the major challenges of cleaning up air pollution is the failure to maintain and police the condition of commercial vehicles, across all engine generations. In the case, we recommend the establishment of an independent inspectorate under the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department to conduct both regular as well as random unannounced spot checks on all vehicles operated by the bus companies. Franchised bus companies would grant the Inspectorate access to vehicles, with the cost of the inspectorate and its operations being defrayed by fees payable by the bus companies under their franchise agreements.

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