CLEAN air, not hot air, is the message from environmentalists to Chris Patten on the eve of his second policy speech as Governor. ''He made a lot of promises last year,'' said director of Friends of the Earth Ng Fong Siu-mei. ''But some of them just didn't happen.'' In one of his environment pledges last year, Mr Patten said: ''I also want to talk further to those outside the Government who take an interest in these important matters.'' But Ms Ng said: ''He didn't even try to meet with me . . . and I don't think he's met formally with any of the other groups either.'' She believed the two most important areas for Mr Patten's environmental policy announcements should be improving air quality and creating more links between Hong Kong and China. ''Whether they are talking about dredging, building road links or trafficking hazardous waste, they have to talk to the Chinese more. It's all the same environment and they have to realise the importance of working together.'' She said that while the Governor could claim last year that the situation had improved in certain environmental areas - for example, he said sulphur dioxide levels had been cut by 40 per cent since 1990 - there were sadder statistics on the eve of his 1993 speech. ''In the Kwai Chung area, the monthly sulphur dioxide average is now 2.3 times higher than it was a year ago,'' Ms Ng said. ''And in August we had three days of smog. It's never been that bad before.'' While commending the fact that the Government had allocated the promised $3 billion to sewage service improvements, she said it had failed to fulfil the pledge to be an environmental example to businesses. The Conservancy Association said the Government was preoccupied by political talks with Beijing, and had neglected Hong Kong's worsening pollution. The Environmental Protection Department acknowledged it could not clean up Hong Kong overnight, but said it was still making progress. ''The Governor spent a large part of his speech last year dealing with the environment. This year, we have announced the sewage disposal scheme, which will be in place by 1997 and will reduce pollution in Victoria Harbour by 70 per cent,'' a spokesman said. ''We have run a television campaign on energy saving and waste minimisation, and our community officer is in close touch with community groups and schools.''