More time needed to reach consensus on clean air programme

After nearly two years of consultancy study, and four months of public consultation that ended in November, environment officials are still no nearer to hammering out a clear road map on how Hong Kong should move towards better air quality.

Reporting progress on revamping outdated air quality objectives, officials told lawmakers yesterday that they have found, as expected, diverse views in the community on both target-setting and measures required to achieve them.

But they said nothing about how these differences could be resolved and what steps were required to move forward amid growing impatience in the community over lack of progress towards cleaner air.

Dr Kitty Poon Kit, undersecretary for the environment, said time was needed to reach consensus on a basket of 19 measures proposed last year to reach a set of interim targets.

Each of these measures, such as rationalising bus routes and early replacement of diesel buses, had varying support from different sectors - and financial implications - and they had to address this carefully.

'As to timetables, we have to see whether society can reach consensus on the measures so that we can prioritise and schedule them. If it takes a long time to build the consensus, it is going to affect how the targets are set,' Poon told lawmakers at the Environmental Affairs panel.

The targets recommended by the Environment Bureau are described by clean air advocates as modest compared to World Health Organisation guidelines.