Air Pollution Control (Amendment) Ordinance 2013: Implementing New Air Quality Objectives

The Air Pollution Control (Amendment) Ordinance 2013 was passed by the Legislative Council on 10 July 2013 and will come into operation on 1 January 2014.

The Air Pollution Control Ordinance (Cap. 311) (APCO) makes provision for abating, prohibiting and controlling pollution of the atmosphere. Under the APCO, "air pollution" means "an emission of air pollutant which either alone or with another emission of air pollutant ... prejudicial to health". In the APCO, the Air Quality Objectives (AQOs) – (i.e., concentration limits of certain air pollutants¹) are stipulated as the air quality that should be achieved and maintained in order to promote the conservation and best use of air in air control zones in the public interest. The AQOs also serve as a benchmark for assessing the air quality impact of specified processes² under the APCO and of designated projects³ under the Environmental Impact Assessment Ordinance (Cap. 499) (EIAO).