UK fined for lack of air pollution reduction

A supreme court ruling today announced that the UK government has failed to successfully implement strategies to reduce the country's air pollution levels. This means the UK government is subject to heavy fines from the EU.

Extreme measures may be put into place to bring the UK's efforts to reduce air pollution in line with the EU Air Quality Directive. There could be a car ban in cities throughout the UK and heavy-goods vehicles may have to be limited in order to reduce emissions. However, as the supreme court ruled that clarifications are needed from the European Commission, any drastic changes to be made by the UK government could be delayed for up to a year.

James Thornton, CEO of ClientEarth, said: "This landmark decision … paves the way for the European Commission to take legal action against the UK. The ruling marks a turning point in the fight for clean air and will pile the pressure on the environment secretary, Owen Paterson. He must now come up with an ambitious plan to protect people from carcinogenic diesel fumes."

Government plans show that 16 British regions and cities will be suffering from illegal levels of nitrogen dioxide until 2020-2025. London, Manchester, Birmingham and Glasgow are listed amongst the affected areas.

The ruling stated that immediate enforcement action can take place - at both a national and European level. However, further enforcement of the law will wait until the European Union's court of justice has answered the legal questions posed by the supreme court.

Alan Andrews, a ClientEarth lawyer, said: "The supreme court recognised that this case has broader implications for EU environmental law: the government can't flout environmental law with impunity. If the government breaks the law, citizens can demand justice and the courts must act."

29,000 early deaths in the UK every year are caused by health problems that are linked to air pollution.