Supreme Court orders UK to draw up air pollution cleanup plan

London: The UK’s supreme court has ruled that the government must formulate new plans on cutting air pollution as a matter of urgency.

London’s air quality has for many years fallen below the minimum standards set by the European Union, and the UK’s supreme court judges on Wednesday morning judged they must be upheld, particularly in regard to nitrogen dioxide.

Nitrogen dioxide is a gas that can cause breathing difficulties in vulnerable people, such as asthmatics and older adults, and can stunt the proper growth of lung function in children. It is a by-product of diesel vehicle engines, which now make up more than a third of the UK’s fleet, owing to favourable taxation.

Under the EU’s air quality directive, strict limits are set on the concentrations of nitrogen dioxide in the atmosphere that are permissible. The limits came into force five years ago, on January 1, 2010, but there was a provision that member states could stave off the imposition of the ruling until the beginning of this year, if they could show that they had an action plan in place to deal with the problem.

In a case brought by ClientEarth, a non-governmental organisation involved in seeking legal redress over environmental issues, the Supreme Court was asked to rule on whether the government had fulfilled its obligations in regard to meeting the air pollution rules, but most of the questions revolved around legal detail such as what constitutes a postponement and how it can be applied for.

The panel of five judges ordered “that the government must prepare and consult on new air quality plans for submission to the European Commission ... no later than December 31 2015”.

The outcome of the Supreme Court ruling means the government can be challenged for its failure to ensure that concentrations of nitrogen dioxide meet agreed EU limits.