Survey Finds Little Hope For Improving Hong Kong Air Quality - AFP

[hatrack]

Hong Kong's chronic pollution problem is unlikley to get any better under current government efforts, a media report said Monday, citing a survey of business and political leaders. The findings deepen concerns expressed by business chiefs that the thick smog that engulfs the city most of the year is deterring companies from investing here and risks losing the city its status as a major financial hub. They also suggest that few believe claims made by the governments of Hong Kong and China's neighbouring Guangdong province to be tackling the issue.

Some 91 percent of respondents ranked the southern Chinese territory's air quality as "poor" or "very poor", according to the survey commissioned by the South China Morning Post newspaper.

It also found 88 percent had little or no confidence in air quality improving. Nearly half of the respondents believed the territory's pollution would become worse or significantly worse. Pollution has become a key political issue in Hong Kong as smog levels have risen to often dangerous levels. Poor air quality reduced visibility to less than one kilometer (about half a mile) on more than 50 days last year.

While the problem is mostly due to factories across southern China's booming manufacturing centre in Guangdong province, local coal-burning power stations and diesel-powered buses are also major contributors. The Hong Kong government recently launched an "Action Blue Sky" campaign to persuade citizens to cut down on air conditioner use and slash energy consumption.

EDIT

http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Survey_Finds_Little_Confidence_On_Hong_Kong_Smog_999.html