Supreme Court orders government to take 'immediate action' on air pollution

The UK Supreme Court has quashed the government’s so far ineffective plans to cut illegal levels of air pollution – much of which comes from road vehicles in cities – in Britain and ordered it to deliver new plans by the end of the year. The ruling is the culmination of a five-year legal battle fought by environmental lawyer group ClientEarth for what it calls the right of British people to breathe clean air.

The ruling will eventually save thousands of lives a year by forcing the government to urgently clean up pollution from diesel vehicles, the main source of the illegal levels of nitrogen dioxide found in many of the UK’s towns and cities, according to ClientEarth.

The ruling means that the government must start work on a comprehensive plan to meet pollution limits as soon as possible. Among the measures that that it could consider are low emission zones, congestion charging and other economic incentives.

The case concerns the UK government’s obligations under European Directive 2008/50/EC – the Air Quality Directive – to reduce levels of nitrogen dioxide in outdoor air. Formed by combustion at high temperatures, the main sources of nitrogen dioxide are road traffic and domestic heating. The Directive sets limits to levels of various pollutants, including nitrogen dioxide, and sets corresponding time limits for compliance.

The UK government had a five-year period from January 2010 to achieve limits of the gas, but failed to meet those limits, particularly in London, and suggested they would not be met until 2025. The Court ruled that there had been a breach of the Directive and that the government must submit new air quality plans by the end of 2015.

The Supreme Court Justices were unanimous in their decision, saying: ‘the new government, whatever its political complexion, should be left in no doubt as to the need for immediate action to address this issue.’

ClientEarth Lawyer Alan Andrews said: ‘Air pollution kills tens of thousands of people in this country every year. We brought our case because we have a right to breathe clean air and today the Supreme Court has upheld that right. This ruling will benefit everyone’s health but particularly children, older people and those with existing health conditions like asthma and heart and lung conditions.’ The organisation is calling for action to clean up the worst polluting diesel vehicles, including through a national network of low emission zones.

The ruling was also an opportunity for promoters of alternatively-fuelled vehicles to highlight their fuels or technologies. Chief Executive Officer of liquefied gas fuel supplier Gasrec, Rob Wood, said: ‘hopefully this will be a wake-up call for the government and the wider transport industry – which is responsible for the bulk of nitrogen emissions – that the development and adoption of natural gas fuelled vehicles should be greatly speeded up.’

Strategies to reduce the volume of urban road traffic represent another part of the solution.