Clear The Air Hong Kong

Important facts to keep in mind about Hong Kong air pollution :

• 53% of the time, Hong Kong air pollution is generated locally by coal fired power plants, old diesel trucks and ships..
• It is hard to imagine reducing air pollution without adopting a comprehensive energy policy leading to electricity saving, opening up the grid to competition, and encouraging the use of renewable energies.
• The planned Macau-Zhuhai-HongKong  bridge is likely to increase air pollution further and deteriorate our environment.
• Examples overseas show there is no contradiction between a prosperous society and care for its environment.

We now need to support a low-carbon economy.

Welcome to Clear The Air.

Clear the Air is a volunteer group, entirely supported by individual membership fees and member donations. Registered as a Society on the 10th of December, 1997, in response to increasing air pollution, we are committed to the introduction and implementation of measures to significantly reduce air pollution in Hong Kong.

Our dedicated volunteers strive towards a cleaner Hong Kong by:

• Promoting strong, focused community support for air pollution control measures
• Working with government and stakeholders to find practical solutions
• Educating the public on the importance of air pollution to their own health and wealth
• Providing a platform for the local community to take action

Air pollution seriously threatens the public health, and economic and social well being of all residents of Hong Kong. Many districts in Hong Kong are failing to meet statutory health standards for air quality, and the associated health costs to individuals, businesses and society are estimated to cost billions of dollars each year.

Government projections indicate that air quality will substantially deteriorate in future years largely due to growth in traffic in Hong Kong and in the Pearl River region. Experience in many other parts of the world has proved that this threat can be successfully reduced through appropriate planning and investment to maintain the health and wealth of the region.

To achieve our purpose we need your support.

When it comes to breathing - we don't have a choice.

Hong Kong Air Pollution Index

This Administration is not letting the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) give us the most up to date health advice. The current method of calculating the Hong Kong Air Pollution Index does not properly protect us or our children. Our Air Quality Objectives (AQO) are the basis of both planning decisions and the Air Pollution Index (API) which is reported every day on the news. These objectives are used in Town Planning decisions on projects that increase our air pollution. This forces us to breathe unhealthy air because the current objectives are too loose.

The Government should allow the Environmental Protection Department to use the most health advice, suggested on the US Environmental Protection Agency website. US uses the most recent medical information to determine dangerous or unhealthy levels of air pollution, so we can properly protect ourselves and our children.

The Greenpeace API is set on an hourly basis - it takes the figures from the Environmental Protection Department air monitoring stations, and converts them in a calculation based on the World Health Organization Air Quality Objectives.

Note : The figures measure the concentration of the main pollutants at any given time. Pollutants include : Respirable Suspended Particulates (RSP), Sulphur Dioxide, Nitrogen Oxides, Ozone, Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC).