Hong Kong's 1 104 square kilometres of land contain 6.9 million people and one of the world's largest trading economies. Steep mountains and strong planning controls have led to most of the population being housed in 225 square kilometres of urban development, while over 400 square kilometres have been designated as 'protected areas' including country parks, special areas and conservation zonings. The concentration of population and economic activities in such a small area leads to intense pressures on the environment. This is compounded by the effects, particularly on air quality, from development across the Pearl River Delta region.

The Chief Executive announced in his 1999 annual address a major programme to improve the quality of Hong Kong's environment, covering air pollution control measures, improvement in water quality, reform of waste management, strengthening of conservation, greening of the urban environment and development of regional pollution control mechanisms with Guangdong Province. On July 1, 2002, a new policy bureau, the Environment, Transport and Works Bureau, was established to continue the momentum of this programme.