(To watch the full press conference with sign language interpretation, click here.)

The Government announced the Clean Air Plan for Hong Kong 2035 today, setting out a goal for the city’s air quality to be on par with major international cities by 2035.

Secretary for the Environment KS Wong said at a press conference this afternoon that the target in the long run is to meet the ultimate standards of the World Health Organization Air Quality Guidelines.

The new plan covers six major areas, including green transport, liveable environment, comprehensive emissions reduction, clean energy, scientific management and regional collaboration.

Mr Wong said improving roadside air quality is a challenging task and the popularisation of electric vehicles (EV) would help to address the issue.

“The bus companies are (having) a very positive response to our EV roadmap. They are working on two aspects. One is to electrify the bus fleet, including the single-decker and also double-decker buses.

“It is not easy, but I think we see the need and also the technology is improving. So they are testing the new energy vehicles at the same time, improving the charging facilities in their depots so that we can empower Hong Kong to improve the vehicle-related emissions.

“At the same time, another bus company is going to try out the hydrogen buses. So we are exploring different technologies to improve the roadside air pollution.”

Other objectives include maximising the use of local renewable energy and using more natural gas as a transitional energy for power generation.

Mr Wong said Hong Kong's Air Quality Objectives will be reviewed every five years to progressively tighten the targets.

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