I refer to Paul Serfaty’s letter (“Cars aren’t the major culprits of air pollution”, February 1).
It is unfortunate he misses the point that Clean Air Network (CAN) wants to raise.
It is true that the major contributors of particulate and nitrogen oxide emissions are diesel goods vehicles. In fact, CAN is one of the most adamant advocates of mandatory retirement of old commercial diesel vehicles.
In 2013, we mobilised medical practitioners, public health experts and school teachers to speak in Legco for those suffering from air pollution-related diseases, facilitating the passing of a long overdue bill. We will remain vigilant on this issue.
As I said in my letter (“Restricting car usage is the only effective way to cut air pollution in Hong Kong”, January 27), while this end-of-pipe solution did alleviate the situation, we need an integrated solution that prevents the environmental problem at source, that is, demand-led traffic management.
The government’s Public Transport Strategy Study said uncurbed growth of private cars was responsible for traffic congestion. Transport Department figures show private cars and taxis occupy 40 per cent of the road space respectively in Central during peak hours, trapping more polluting diesel commercial vehicles in long queues, leading to more polluted air.