Hong Kong will be one of about 10
international financial centres taking part in a clean air and health
initiative to be launched by the World Health Organisation later this year.
The project will study
air-quality improvement measures in the cities and examine their impact on
health, said Dr Carlos Dora, head of the WHO's "intervention for healthy
environments" unit.
"We will develop
collaborations with global cities that are economically important," Dora
told the South China Morning Post. "The project is still being discussed
with the cities and with funders."
The programme, details of which
will be confirmed in the next few months, will examine and compare how cities
tackle air pollution and look to formulate models based on different
approaches. It will also track changes in policy and their impact on air
quality and public health.
Dora visited Hong Kong in October
to meet government officials. He praised the Hong Kong government's clean-air
policy, saying it demonstrated that the administration had clearly identified
the problem.
An Environmental Protection
Department spokeswoman said she understood the project would draw lessons from
the experiences of different cities and the impact on pollution of policies on
transport, land use, buildings, energy and port management, among other areas.
"We look forward to
discussing with [the WHO] how we could contribute to it," she said.
The government has put forward a
series of environmental policies in recent months, including offering subsidies
for the replacement of old diesel vehicles.
It also plans to help vehicle
owners replace old catalytic converters - devices which reduce harmful
emissions.
But some environmentalists say
the policies do not go far enough to tackle the problem.
The department has also
commissioned Chinese University's school of public health to develop a
methodology for quantifying the health and economic impacts of air pollution in
Hong Kong.
The 15-month study was
commissioned in January.
"We are hoping to help the
government by offering it a more adequate cost-benefit rationale when it
implements policies, to answer the question of whether the money is worth
spending," said Professor Wong Tze-wai, who is part of the study.
"There is not much such data
at the moment."
The University of Hong Kong
developed its Hedley Environmental Index to estimate the number of deaths,
medical consultations and other costs linked to air pollution.
Wong said the data gleaned from
the new study would be more comprehensive and its design would make it easier
to apply to policy-making.
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