Cross-Border Air Pollution Control: Legal and Policy Solutions

Description

It is common knowledge that there are two sources of air pollution in Hong Kong: local and external (Pearl River Delta), the latter being the primary source. The resolution of this issue is further complicated by the fact that Hong Kong has a different legal system from the Mainland. The HKSAR Government has signed agreements with Guangdong Province on reduction of air pollutants, but they are not enforceable. This project will conduct a thorough review of existing mechanisms on cross-border air pollution control to identify their defects. A comparative study will then be conducted on how cross-border air pollution is tackled legally in the European Union, North America and Southeast Asia, and what experiences Hong Kong can learn from them. The primary objective of the project is to find practical and feasible policy and legal solutions to cross-border air pollution between Hong Kong and the Mainland, and to design an enforceable legal mechanism on cross-border air pollution control.