The Council for Sustainable Development at an Air Summit meeting also said there was overwhelming public support for road pricing and higher transport costs.

The largest public consultation conducted in Hong Kong has revealed that 42 percent of people favor a road pricing scheme while 77 percent support higher transport fees to improve air quality.

The findings were presented by Hong Kong University at the summit.

Edgar Cheng Wai-kin, the vice chairman of the Council for Sustainable Development, which commissioned the survey of 81,000 people, called for all air quality initiatives to be condensed into the superfund to offer integrated solutions to air pollution.

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"Let's focus on how to get air better in a holistic way. That will require big funding," he said. "If we want to clear up everything it will cost HK$20 billion to HK$30 billion."

In opening the summit, Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen vowed to consider the council's recommendations when drafting the government's long-term strategy on air pollution.

"If we want to keep our economic momentum we have to improve our air quality. We must provide better living standards to attract investors and talent to stay in Hong Kong," Tsang said.

The survey also revealed support for a color-coded alert system for bad air days and for the funds from road pricing schemes to subsidize greener vehicles.

HKU professor John Bacon-Shone said the primary concern of road pricing was the level of cost, although most said they would pay a reasonable fee.

"We asked how the fee should be decided. There was a clear consensus it should be on the pollution output of the vehicle - that is, the polluter pays. The principle of charging is clear but the level of charging is a delicate political issue that was too technical and specific to address in the consultation," Bacon-Shone said.

More than 70 percent of respondents also called for such mandatory measures as turning off air-conditioning or lights in empty rooms and a ban on advertising lighting early in the morning.

There was support for public events with physical activity such as sports days to be cancelled on poor air days and for greater use of public transport.

"The more than 80,000 responses from the public show they are concerned about air quality and the quality of life. We hope the committee ... will put forward some relevant suggestions on improving the air quality," Tsang said.