Clean Air Network

Clean Air Network

Formation	July 2009
Type	NGO
Location	Hong Kong
Website	www.hongkongcan.org

Clean Air Network (CAN, traditional Chinese: 健康空氣行動; simplified Chinese: 健康空气行动) is an independent non-governmental organisation exclusively focused on the issue of air pollution in Hong Kong. CAN aims to educate the public about the health impacts of air pollution and to mobilise public support for cleaner air in Hong Kong.

History

CAN was established in July 2009, following a Civic Exchange conference focused on the state of Hong Kong's air pollution in January of the same year.

CAN's mission is to amplify voices of individuals, groups and organisations, and together urge the government to take appropriate measures to clean up Hong Kong's air immediately.

In 2017, CAN focused primarily on tackling local roadside air pollution, along with emissions from marine vessels, power plants and regional sources. In recent years, CAN focuses to become the top environmental educational partner, and urges for accelerate Hong Kong's transition of franchised bus, public light bus and heavy–duty goods vehicles to zero–emission modes.

Approach

The organisation supports the government in its endeavours to clean up Hong Kong's air through non-confrontational means, acting as its "honest mirror." CAN works with district councilors, legislative council members, and private sector corporations. The company also maintains close relations with the Environmental Protection Department and provides research reports, fact sheets and other documents on issues related to its work to help raise awareness and provide information to policy and decision makers.

CAN has also given numerous talks at educational institutions, including local and international schools and Hong Kong's universities.

The company also offers a student air monitoring program, which allows students to physically monitor the air pollutants of their school and home environments first-hand. Within the 2011–2012 school year, a total of 11 schools will have participated in their program. The company believes that the involvement of youth is essential in laying the foundation for an environmentally-conscious society, and thus has pioneered many activities specifically suited for them.

The Clean Air Network regularly uses social media, such as YouTube and Twitter, to spread its message and provide updates on air pollution-related issues. CAN also offers a weekly e-newsletter that summarises news headlines, events, and other information relevant to air pollution and its operations. Additionally, they hold unique educational events targeting the public, ranging from scavenger hunts to film festivals. For example, CAN held a mask design competition in the district of Sham Shui Po ("罩量─深水埗口罩設計較量" in Chinese) which engaged local artists and emphasised the severity of air pollution in Hong Kong.

CAN also gathers the public's opinion through in-surveys and by offering a database of survey results from external organisations. For example, the organisation administered surveys from 10 pediatrician offices that looked at parent's knowledge and attitudes towards Hong Kong's air quality and their children's respiratory health.

Work

Anti-Idling Bill

The Anti-idling Ordinance has been a significant milestone in the regulation of Hong Kong's road side emissions. The bill, first brought to the public attention in June 2010, was intended to prevent motorists from keeping their engines on while not in motion. The anti-idling ban now offers a three-minute grace period every hour a vehicle is running and various other exemptions.

In June 2010, during the Legislative Council's hearing of public statements for and against the anti-idling bill, the organisation secured the appearance of two Hong Kong medical associations, the Hong Kong Society of Pediatrics and the Hong Kong Asthma Society, represented by Dr. Aaron Yu Chak-man and Dr. Alfred Tam Yat-cheung, respectively. Both doctors defended the bill and fielded questions from groups against the anti-idling ordinance. CAN also helped to bring students from Chinese International School, who implored lawmakers to protect their health instead of subordinating society's interests to narrow constituencies’ demands. CAN also backed the Secretary of the Environment, Edward Yau by accompanying him during his consultation with Hong Kong's transportation industry workers.

CAN also recognises that exemptions to the anti-idling bill must be put into place, but must be done so cautiously in order to avoid defeating the purpose of the bill. Although such a law would not be the end all and be all solution to improving Hong Kong's roadside air quality, CAN's CEO Joanne Ooi believes that it is "a crucial step to changing attitudes in society at large towards air pollution."

Environmental Impact Assessment

The Clean Air Network has worked towards encouraging the Panel of Environmental Affairs to review its environmental impact assessment Ordinance and to make amendments so that public health is considered during the assessment of new infrastructure projects. CAN wrote a letter to LegCo outlining the possible amendments to the Technical Memorandum. These changes suggested that the EIA should describe how the environment and community might be affected by the above change and what possible mitigation measures the party could use.

With a third runway proposed to be built by the Hong Kong Airport Authority, CAN has done much to ensure that the project would not proceed unless a fully comprehensive Environmental Impact Assessment has been carried out by the HKAA. The organisation jointly sent a letter to urge the EPD to seek further information from the HKAA to resolve or amend its EIA so that the project profile meets the requirements of the Environmental Impact Assessment Ordinance. During the public consultation period, CAN was present along with 11 other environmental groups to voice their concerns. According to SCMP, this public consultation was "a first in the history of EIA submissions in terms of the level of attention it [received] from environmental groups".

According to CAN's Campaign Manager Erica Chan, "Many important issues are not explored in-depth in this project profile and that gives us a great deal of concern as to how much the development of the third runway will aggravate air pollution in Tung Chung and its surrounding areas, and even all of Hong Kong."

Hong Kong Chief executive Candidates

With CAN's campaigning and petitioning, the organisation was able to bring the issue of air pollution onto the radar of the Hong Kong Chief executive Candidates during the years of 2011–2012.

In December 2011, CAN presented the three Chief executive Candidates Henry Tang, CY Leung and Albert Ho with a "Clean Air Ballot" and a symbolic pair of black lungs. All three candidates accepted CAN's "clean air ballot" and pledged to improve air quality. This event received much note from the local news.

On 3 March 2012 CAN, along with the WWF-Hong Kong, Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth hosted an Environmental Policy Forum where the candidates did a question and answer period with the public. This was an achievement as this forum both began a dialogue on environmental issues and allowed the public to voice their concerns.

PM2.5

The organisation offers self-monitored air quality reports twice daily from Monday to Friday, which has been available even before the government's release of air quality data. Their data is taken from their Sheung Wan office and is based on an hourly average. CAN also offers alerts when API levels reach hazardous levels (above API 100). This information is accessible on their website and through their various social media outlets, such as Facebook and Twitter. CAN also rents out PM2.5 monitoring machines, SIDEPAK AM510s, thus allowing people to monitor the air quality in their own homes and neighbourhoods.

The organisation intended for their self-monitored report to act as a catalyst in encouraging the government to publish citywide PM2.5 levels in real-time. PM2.5 levels every hour data is now gathered by the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) from 14 different monitoring stations, although the organisation still finds the government's actions inadequate as a majority of monitors are placed above ground level and do not accurately measure the pollutants the average person would be exposed to. As well, six districts in Hong Kong still lack air quality monitoring stations, with the said districts being the Southern District, Wong Tai Sin, Kowloon City, North, Sai Kung and Tuen Mun.

Social Media and Technology

Aside from the use of Facebook, Twitter, and other social media platforms, Clean Air Network has used other technological means to engage with the public.

In Sept 2009, CAN teamed up with a youth filmmaking non-governmental organisation, Focus on Film, to raise public awareness about the issue of Hong Kong's air quality. "Clean Air 1–2 Go" involved 200 students who made short films about Hong Kong's air pollution that were eventually aired on monitors in Hong Kong's major malls.

During the Summer of 2010, CAN introduced a suite of innovative environmental information tools comprising a Real-time Air Pollution Facebook Widget, Real-time Air Pollution Email Alerts (Beta), an iPhone app and Daily Lunchtime Roadside Pollution Tweets. These tools give the public immediate, updated readings about air pollution and, in some cases, push alerts, in a convenient, readable format, allowing them to stay on top of air pollution conditions in real time.

Of particular significance is a public service announcement CAN released. The video stars popular celebrities Daniel Wu, Ana R., Simon Yin and Cara G, and is shot in the style of a 1980s-style infomercial. The PSA is a fake advertisement about canned oxygen brand and takes a humorous, satirical approach in order to provoke viewers to imagine pollution so bad that one has to purchase healthy air from a can in order to perform even everyday functions. This video is claimed to be the most successful in Hong Kong NGO history and has since gone viral, with the Cantonese version receiving more than 210K views.

CAN also organised Hong Kong's first flash mob dedicated to air pollution in June 2011. In this event, 80 volunteers wearing gas masks and T-shirts bearing health messages pretended to die from air pollution by laying sprawled on the pavement outside of Sogo. The bizarre sight garnered the attention of passersby and educated them about the health concerns associated with air pollution.

Air Quality Objectives

Prior to 2009, Hong Kong's AQOs had not seen revision for more than 20 years. CAN believes that relevant AQOs are essential to having good air quality and that in constructing the air quality objectives, the government should hold the protection of public health as their primary objective.

CAN has pressured the government to update and enforce its Air Quality Objectives on many instances. In January 2011, CAN, Friends of the Earth and other green groups filed an ombudsman complaint collectively in order to protest the government's failure to fulfill their promise to review and revise the Air Quality Objectives. The organisations requested that the government set a timetable to meet the objectives and explain to the public whether any progress has been made. Although following the complaint the government was not found guilty of maladministration, the ordeal was able to garner public attention towards the government's lack of action.

In December 2011, CAN held a Dark Christmas Carnival in protest of Donald Tsang's had promised that by the end of the year –generally lax attitude towards cleaning Hong Kong's air. Approximately 50 participants decked out in black clothing and costumes gathered in causeway bay, where they filled black balloons with polluted air. The crowd then marched to the Government House where the balloon was popped and the gift of polluted, roadside air was given to Donald Tsang. At the scene, CAN's CEO Stephen Wong gave a speech where he explained that the state of Hong Kong air is at critical levels and that the gift was in hopes of allowing the Chief Executive to understand how it feels to breathe in roadside air. This event saw much coverage from local news stations, including Oriental Daily, Apple Daily, MingPao, and Yahoo.

In light of Donald Tsang's failure to keep his promise of announcing new AQOs within 2011 and to "combat air pollution in order to protect public health," Clean Air Network collaborated with Friends of the Earth in a petition for clean air. 10,000 signatures were collected during the petition, numbers which represented a significantly stronger response from the public, in comparison to their petition held throughout the year of 2010, where 25,000 signatures were collected.

Although the Clean Air Network was content with the government's proposal of new AQOs in 2012, the organisation still saw that they were not up to par in protecting public health. Clean Air Network's CEO Helen Choy stated that the AQOs "are not even close to being comparable to the WHO's recommended guidelines" and that the Government "should set a clear timetable for adopting the WHO's recommended guidelines". The organisation has also done independent research surrounding the issues with the new AQOs which they have published, including a budget study which outlined the government's economic investments towards cleaning Hong Kong's air.

Community Outreach

In the spring of 2011, CAN joined up with Sotheby's and 40 international artists to hold a Clean Air Auction, the first of its kind and scale in Asia. Environmentally-themed artwork was on display in IFC's oval atrium in March and subsequently auctioned in April at Sotheby's Hong Kong Contemporary Asian Art Spring Auction at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center. The auction ended with the sale of 42 lots and raised a total of $2.2 million.

Additionally, CAN holds an annual event called the Airmazing Race, a scavenger hunt intended to raise awareness towards air pollution through the completion of various tasks. On 25 June 2011, CAN held their first instalment of The Airmazing Race where approximately 300 youths aged 11–18, representing 75 schools, competed in this scavenger hunt for clean air. The race consisted of tasks that ranged from finding and photographing Hong Kong's three air monitoring system to taking photographs with "the blue man". The race is also to be held again in July of the following year where around 800 students are expected to take part.

Education

During the first half of 2011, CAN wrote six bilingual educational modules about air pollution for secondary school students and teachers to assist in the teaching of Hong Kong secondary school's Liberal Studies requirement. The materials were made available to the public through Ming Pao's Liberal Studies portal. Letters were sent to all schools in Hong Kong informing teachers and principals about the availability of the materials.

CAN also routinely holds student air quality monitoring programs in conjunction with schools in the Hong Kong area. This program has been done with approximately 20 schools, including the Diocesan Boys' School and Lingnan Secondary School.

Activities

On 25 March 2019, CAN held a press conference in the Legislative Council building with other environmental group members of the Air Quality Concern Group and Legislative Council members , included Eddie Chu, Dennis Kwok, Jeffrey Tam, Kenneth Leung, Kwok Ka-ki, Tanya Chan and Ted Hui. In the press conference, the concern groups and the Legislative Councillors opposed the Government's proposal to significantly relax the restriction on the number of days on which exceeding the concentration limit of fine suspended particulates would be allowed, from nine days to 35 days per year, which would jeopardise public health. The groups urged the Government to withdraw the proposal immediately.

In 2019, CAN and other environmental groups in the "Air Quality Concern Group" commissioned the Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute to conduct a survey on the air quality objectives review. The said groups released the findings in a press conference on 1 August 2019 and criticised the Environmental Protection Department for going against public opinion when revising the air quality objectives. Those attending the press conference included Friends of the Earth (HK), Greenpeace, Legislative Councillor Kwok Ka-ki, and writer in environmental issue James Edward Ockenden.

On 2 August 2019, CAN expressed support for a city-wide strike to be held on 5 August, together with the Lantau Buffalo Association, Ecobus, the Eco-Education and Resources Centre, the Save Lantau Alliance, the Natural Network, The Conservancy Association, Food Grace, HKWildlife.net, the Hong Kong Dolphin Conservation Society, Designing Hong Kong, Green Power, Greeners Action, the Lung Mei Environmental Education Centre, Green Sense, the Land Justice League and the Society of Hong Kong Nature Explorers.

On 13 August 2019, following the police's use of tear gas in the Kwai Fong MTR Station on 11 August, Ming Pao invited CAN to measure the concentration of fine suspended particulates in the station. Loong Tsz Wai, Senior Community Relations Manager at CAN, pointed out that although the measurement did not show a relationship between the use of tear gas and the concentration of the particulates, it showed the station was not well ventilated. The station was partly enclosed; for this reason the tear gas was not easily dispersed and fell on the ground when it cooled down and turned into powder. Loong expressed concerns on the decision of reopen the MTR station was made without adequate consideration.

On 22 August 2019, CAN released the findings of a survey titled "The Impact of Tear Gas on Hong Kong People's Health".

On 11 November 2019, CAN posted photos of measurement readings of fine suspended particulates near The Hong Kong Polytechnic University on social media. The concentration of the particulates exceeded World Health Organization standards and the surroundings of the campus smelled of tear gas.

On 18 November 2019, CAN's Loong Tse Wai published an article titled "Does Tear Gas Affect Air Quality?" in the Hong Kong Economic Journal. He pointed out that the Government had underestimated the impact of tear gas towards air quality and humans. Loong, an alumnus of CUHK, in the article condemned on the police's use of tear gas on campus without restraint.

On 30 July 2020, Ming Pao Weekly published an article titled "Field Study: How Many Tear Gas Canisters We Can Bear in a Street". In the article, CAN's Loong Tsz Wai pointed out that the discussion should not be focussed on the spacious of the area but the impact of tear gas on residents. Loong said the reason for using tear gas in an open area was to reduce the impact on residents, passers-by and restaurants nearby, using tear gas in an area with a high density of buildings or population was unreasonable.

In January 2020, CAN held press conference to announce 2019 Annual Air Quality Review with key findings included level of ozone in Hong Kong reached 20 years record high. According to Ming Pao Daily News report, CAN analyzed 2019 air quality data from the Hong Kong Environmental Protection Department (EPD) and noted the level of PM2.5 and NO2 has shown a decreasing trend compared to 5 years ago, but level of ozone has shown an unstoppable increase in 2019 to reach the highest level (54μg/m3) since 1998. CAN mentioned the government seems not developing an effective strategy for combating the skyrocketing level of ozone, should investigate the reason why the level of ozone in Hong Kong and the surrounding region has been skyrocketed in recent years.

CAN, in April 2021, worked with community institutions launched "Citizen Clean Air Plan" (CAP 2013) with the aim to reconcile some of the disconnections observed in the past administrations (including disconnections in policymaking and science) by changing the system. The CAP2013 with reviews and recommendations and this was supported by various organization included he Hong Kong Medical Association, Hong Kong Thoracic Society, Hong Kong Lung Foundation, the CHEST Delegation Hong Kong and Macau Limited, Hong Kong Society of Paediatric Respirology and Allergy. Eight district councils (Central and Western, Eastern, Wan Chai, Kwun Tong, Wong Tai Sin, Sham Shui Po, Yau Tsim Mong, and Tuen Mun) has passed a resolution in support for a citizen clean air plan.

An On AIR project co-organised by CAN and Oil Street Air Space held in November and December 2022, which presented by Leisure and Cultural Services Department. ON AIR is a public project to re-orient public consciousness to the air we breathe, and also a part of an ongoing journey to explore how creativity and collaboration can bring new perspectives to environmental, urban and well-being issues. CAN co-curated the ON AIR series with local artist Yip Kai Chun, and invited the Austria-based artist and architect Adam Hudec bringing his "Dusts-free-Chambers" to let visitors to engage with an unusual sensual experience in a pollution-free environment. The project also included a series of workshops, panel discussions, and screening will also be organised with the aims to spark further conversations and inspire actions.

2023 February 4, CAN with James Edward Ockenden held a protest against the illegal operation of a concrete plant in Yau Tong. The concrete plant operating by China Concrete Company, and its application for a licence renewal of the plant was denied by the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) in January 2022. The High Court also rejected a legal bid from the company to challenge the government's decision last month. Despite this company was refused a licence renewal , the concrete plant on Yau Tong continued to operate.

2023 February 6, CAN joined another 9 green groups boycotted a closed-door briefing by the government on reclamation for the Lantau Tomorrow project. The groups protested at a lack of transparency in a public consultation. A press conference was held to criticize government arrangement on this consultation. The other 9 groups included Green Power, Peng Chau Reclamation Concern Group, Save Lantau Alliance, Green Sense, Hong Kong Dolphin Conservation Society, The Green Earth, Greeners Action, Hong Kong Bird Watching Society and Designing Hong Kong.

2023 Clean Air Day CAN organised the first Clean Air Day in November 2023, with the theme of "Breathe Right" to promote the importance of air quality. A series of events held and invited participants to explore ways to breathe right using their five senses. Exciting game booths, exhibitions, and sports competitions were held to invite more than 150 participants joined and let the public have more understandings about air pollution. Besides, a Cubic Challenge for Schools was held to invites primary and secondary school students to unleash their creativity and imagination to design methods to improve campus air quality on a one cubic meter cube using STEAM elements and draw their imagination for a clean-air campus.

2024 February, CAN organized the "Clean Air for Schools and Beyond" forum, attracted close to 100 representatives and leaders from local governmental, social welfare, education, healthcare and architecture sectors and gathered twelve speakers from industry and academia to address the prospects and challenges facing Hong Kong's indoor environment.

During the forum, CAN demonstrated it has collaborated with the Environment of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (IENV HKUST) from January 2022 to March 2024 on the "Clean Air Schools for Hong Kong" (CASHK) project, which aims to establish the first school-based air monitoring network and provide personalized action plan for eight participated primary schools in the densely populated Sham Shui Po and Tuen Mun districts.

Some participating schools has recorded up to 26.9% of the time with a higher AQHI level (level 7 or above) compared to the closest Air Quality Monitoring Stations of the government which showed a moderate level (level 6 and below). This indicates a higher degree of health risk associated with air pollution in schools.

External links

• Clean Air Network
• Hedley Environmental Index
• Clean Air Network Official Facebook Page