| Air pollution: UK Government’s day in High Court |
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13 December 2011
The legal challenge against the Secretary of State has been brought because air quality plans for 17 regions and cities (including Cardiff, London, Manchester, Birmingham, and Glasgow) will not comply with legal limits for air quality until after 2015. The deadline for achieving these limits was 1 January 2010. The Secretary of State is under a duty to ensure that levels of air pollution in the UK comply with limits set by EU law. Where these limits are exceeded, the Secretary of State must produce plans to ensure compliance as soon as possible. James Thornton, ClientEarth CEO, said: “The Government’s plans to tackle air pollution are frankly pathetic. They contain almost no new measures and show that they won’t achieve air quality limits until 2025. It’s nothing short of a disgrace. “Instead of delaying action in the hope they can persuade the EU to weaken the legal limits the Government needs to tackle this public health crisis now.” ClientEarth is asking the Court to order the Secretary of State to draw up plans that will achieve legal compliance throughout the UK by 2015, and is also asking for a declaration from the Court that the Secretary of State is in breach of her legal obligations. ENDS Media contact George Leigh t. + 44 (0) 203 030 5951; m. + 44 (0)7960182471; e. This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ; or ClientEarth communications office: + 44 (0) 203 030 5954; e. This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Notes to editors: • Claim number CO/7207/2011 • ClientEarth’s challenge relates to 17 air quality plans which fail to achieve compliance by 2015: Projections for compliance with NO2 limits: Greater London 2025 Health risks associated with air pollution • Living near busy roads could be responsible for some 15-30% of all new cases of asthma in children; and of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and coronary heart disease in adults 65 years of age and older http://www.aphekom.org/c/document_library/get_file?uuid=5532fafa-921f-4ab1-9ed9-c0148f7da36a&groupId=10347 (Page 3) • A recent study in the British Medical Journal found that breathing in large amounts of traffic fumes can trigger a heart attack. http://www.bmj.com/content/343/bmj.d5531 • 29,000 deaths reference: the Committee on the Medical Affects of Air Pollutants http://comeap.org.uk/images/stories/Documents/Reports/COMEAP_Mortality_Effects_Press_Release.pdf • Even at low concentrations NO2 can lead to coughing, shortness of breath, fatigue and nausea, as well as irritating the eyes, nose, throat and lungs. • Workplace-related passive smoking contributed to 617 deaths per year across the UK prior to the smoking ban: the number of deaths attributable to London’s air pollution alone is seven times that figure. • Most of the deaths are attributable to the effect of air pollution on cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. • Reduced lung growth rates and impaired lung function are associated with exposure to PM and NO2 near busy roads. Children are more susceptible to this due to the immaturity of their respiratory organ systems. • ClientEarth supports the Healthy Air Campaign |
