Will the Government Listen to the Public Before it's Too Late?
A landslide majority is in favor of government imposed regulations for companies and voluntary actions by individuals to clear up Hong Kong's skies. over 80 percent believe that government regulations and enforcement is the best strategy to reduce air pollution-and 60 percent think the answer is voluntary actions by individuals.
Hong Kong's business sector echoes this sentiment-86 percent supports government regulations for companies and 58 percent views voluntary actions by individuals as critical to reduce air pollution.
Getting Involved.
Nearly all Hong Kongers are willing to adjust their lifestyles to assuage air pollution and climate change impacts.
The public overwhelmingly believes that government and power companies should bear the brunt of the climate change responsibility. Such views follow worldwide trends-according to a recent survey, 42 percent of global interviewees, including Hong Kongers, believe governments should restrict companies' emissions of carbon dioxide and other pollutants3. But the public is not shirking personal responsibility-87 percent recognize that they too have a significant role to play in preserving air quality and maintaining safe global temperatures.
3 http://www.nielsen.com/media/pr_070605_download.pdf
Of those surveyed, more were apt to embrace climate change solutions than those of air pollution. Over 90 percent of Hong Kongers say they are likely to take actions such as avoiding leaving appliances on standby or replacing inefficient light bulbs.
A surprising 60 percent are likely to support NGOs' efforts to prevent climate change, which is encouraging news for us all!
The public believes that the government has a tremendous responsibility to address climate change-but only 25 percent are satisfied with the level of action the government currently takes. "Plenty of room for improvement," is the gist of public opinion.
The message to the government here is straightforward: You have not done your job properly. 3 out of 4 of Hong Kong locals are somewhat to very unsatisfied with the action, or lack there of, the HKSAR government takes on climate change, yet 92 percent believe the HKSAR Government has the biggest share of responsibility-a telling 5 percent only say they are "very satisfied" with the HKSAR Government's actions.
Why is such a stark minority happy with government actions? To begin with, the public is not well informed by the government. They know very little about government initiatives on air pollution or climate change, and are unclear whether or not any even exist.
