Hong Kong picks up a $6 billion bill for air quality

Hong Kong's air quality problems are costing the city-state $6 billion a year, according to recent estimates, which found that air pollution problems were driving business away.

The city has been looking to consolidate its reputation as a financial hub and a major offshore conduit for China’s wealth for some time, but the smog that can often fall like a blanket on top of the city skyscrapers is driving business elsewhere, damaging its appeal and competitiveness.

Health experts believe the problem is now worth £6 billion a year, with air quality in the former British colony now among the worst in Asia. Newspaper vendor Chung Tang, 74, talked to Montreal Gazette about how bad the problems are getting, saying that the government is all talk and no action when it comes to environmental policies.

He said: "They always say you should turn off the engine when you stop a car.

"It's all just advertising. Do they implement it? Do they punish people? Not at all."

His comments were in relation to a government measure to ban idling engines on the streets, especially in places such as Sheung Wan, where there is a heavy density of traffic in narrow, poorly ventilated streets which help concentrated emissions collect.

Thinktank Civic Exchange attributed 7,240 premature deaths and over a half-million avoidable hospital-bed days from "persistently poor air quality" over the past seven years. This unclean environment is driving big businesses away, as well as taking its toll on the businesses that remain in the city-state.

One senior executive at a European bank said he developed asthma within weeks of moving to Hong Kong. He added: "The air quality is so poor that I had to change my long-term intentions of working and living here and relocate to a country or city where I can breathe properly again."

With almost one-quarter of businesses polled by the American Chamber of Commerce saying they have difficulties recruiting professionals to roles in Hong Kong, the $6 billion figure may increase until environmental concerns are under control.

Posted by Joseph Hutton