Hong Kong must control private car growth - or lose the pollution fight

While Hong Kong's congestion problems remain unsolved, its citizens may find it surprising that there were only three paragraphs concerning transport in the chief executive's policy address this year, covering railway development, bus route rationalisation and barrier-free access facilities. Sadly, there were no real solutions to address the rising number of private cars on our roads.

In his speech, Leung Chun-ying put little emphasis on how the public transport system can be developed more sustainably.

Perhaps the government is already satisfied with its measures to reduce the roadside air pollution caused by traffic congestion. Yet, without curbing the rise in private car numbers, efforts to reduce pollutants may come to naught.

According to the Environmental Protection Department's air quality data for 2014, the concentration of nitrogen dioxide decreased at all monitoring stations compared with 2013 - but still exceeded the standards set by the World Health Organisation and our own Air Quality Objectives.

The government claims there has been a continuous improvement in overall air quality over the past few years, but the data says otherwise. Levels of sulphur dioxide, an indicator of marine emissions, exceeded the WHO annual guideline at all monitoring stations except Tai Po.

Furthermore, ozone pollution in Hong Kong reached record highs in areas like Kwun Tong, Sha Tin, Tai Po and Tsuen Wan.