Leaving Hong Kong: Air Pollution Threatens to Choke City’s Economy

One of the favorite arguments put forth by environmental critics is that doing almost anything to protect, preserve or clean up the environment will lead to corporate hardship and economic catastrophe. While there is ample evidence to disprove that claim, it is worth noting that there are often times when the opposite is true, when failing to address environmental issues can have dire economic consequences.

20 Percent of Hong Kong Residents May Leave to Escape Deadly Pollution
Just take a look at Hong Kong, where Agence France-Presse reports that one in five residents is thinking of leaving the city because the air quality is so bad, a change that could threaten Hong Kong’s competitiveness as a global financial center.

According to a survey by the Hong Kong-based think tank Civic Exchange, 1.4 million Hong Kong residents (roughly 20 percent of the population) are contemplating a move to another city. That figure includes 500,000 people who are “seriously considering or already planning to move.”

“People from all sectors of society know that air pollution is making them sick,” Michael DeGolyer, a political science professor at Hong Kong Baptist University, told reporters. “Many are concerned to the point they are considering leaving Hong Kong.”

Top Professionals Among Those Most Likely to Leave Hong Kong
The people most likely to leave Hong Kong are those the city would least want to lose, and for whom moving would come most easily—top-earning professionals who are highly educated and highly skilled. And they wouldn’t have to go far. Singapore and Hong Kong compete aggressively to attract talented workers, and with air pollution causing a brain drain in Hong Kong, Singapore is hiring.

It’s no wonder so many people are thinking of leaving Hong Kong for greener, and cleaner, pastures. Increasing air pollution in the region now causes at least 10,000 deaths annually in Hong Kong, Macau and southern China, and official figures confirm that Hong Kong’s air pollution in 2008 was worse than at any time since recordkeeping began. Most of the dirty air is caused by cross-border pollution from factories in southern China as well as transportation and coal-fired power plants in Hong Kong itself.

Environmental Action Needed to Rescue Hong Kong Economy
Hong Kong officials know they have a problem, but they have been slow to act. Hong Kong Chief Executive Donald Tsang says that improving air quality is “a matter of life and death,” yet it has been 20 years since the city set new air quality standards.

If Hong Kong doesn’t find a way to clean up its air, and soon, the city’s economy may end up choking on its own pollution.