Roadside air quality has worsened in the first quarter of this year. Data from the Environmental Protection Department showed that the air pollution index reached very high levels 34 per cent of the time, compared with 11.9 per cent of the time during the first quarter of 2010 - a threefold increase.
The official response was to blame the untypically dry and sunny weather. Weather does play a part, but officials were not being honest enough to admit they had not done enough to control the sources of roadside air pollution, the main culprit being ageing diesel vehicles, including buses.
This pollution is exacerbated by the uneven use of the three cross-harbour tunnels and the street canyon effect created by wall-like buildings erected along narrow roads, which existing legislation seems unable to control. These facts have been acknowledged by Secretary for the Environment Edward Yau Tang-wah, yet the government still chooses not to act.
The Environment Bureau has already spent HK$6 million on consultancy work to find solutions to the problem, and the consultant has fulfilled the task by tabling suggestions for consideration. So why is our government still sitting on a basket full of solutions with its arms crossed?
The government of Donald Tsang Yam-kuen should not leave it to the next administration to take action. Instead, Yau should start promoting the most effective measures to the public.
Financial disincentives can work. The government should raise the annual licence fees for commercial diesel vehicles that fall below the Euro III standard, and increase vehicle emission inspections to at least twice a year from the current annual check. The licence fee structure should also be based on emission levels to demonstrate the 'polluter pays' principle.
