A Government spokesman said today (June 24) that the Air Pollution Control (Amendment) Ordinance 2021 (Commencement) Notice, which seeks to appoint January 1, 2022, as the day on which the Air Pollution Control (Amendment) Ordinance 2021 (the Amendment Ordinance) comes into operation, was approved by the Legislative Council yesterday (June 23).
The Amendment Ordinance tightens three air quality objectives (AQOs), namely the 24-hour AQO for sulphur dioxide (SO2) and the annual and 24-hour AQOs of fine suspended particulates (FSP/PM2.5) stipulated in Schedule 5 to the Air Pollution Control Ordinance (APCO) (Cap. 311) (see Annex). Furthermore, the Amendment Ordinance provides a transitional arrangement for designated projects with Environmental Permits (EPs) granted under the Environmental Impact Assessment Ordinance (Cap. 499) before January 1, 2022. For these projects, the AQOs that took effect on January 1, 2014, will be applicable to an application for a variation of the EPs lodged within 36 months of the commencement of the new AQOs.
In accordance with the APCO, a review of the AQOs must be carried out at least once every five years. The Government is embarking on the next AQOs review to explore the scope for further tightening such objectives. The review will be completed by 2023.
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