The Supreme Court has ordered the Government to come up with new plans to ensure the UK meets air pollution targets.
The judgement was handed down this morning in ClientEarth’s case against the UK Government for its failure to meet legal limits for air pollution.
The court case was launched after Government plans to tackle air pollution showed that they will not meet nitrogen dioxide (NO2) limits until after 2030 – 20 years after the original deadline.
Air pollution campaigners had hoped that the Supreme Court would oblige the Government to come up with new plans as soon as possible so this is a victory for them.
Experts have recently suggested that the death toll from air pollution, usually put at around 29,000 a year in the UK, could be substantially higher because of the effect of NO2, emitted during fossil fuel burning, which up until now has not been taken into account.
Cllr Caroline Russell, National Spokesperson on Local Transport and the Green Party’s Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Islington North, said: “The new government will have no option but to review all manner of policy areas in order to reduce emissions, including housing, industry, agriculture and transport policies. We must take action.
In terms of transport, we need a complete rethink. The investment in the electrification of public transport including trains and buses is crucial. We need to reduce the need for vehicle trips with freight consolidation to cut the numbers of vans and lorries driving around half empty and encourage ‘last mile deliveries’ by cargo bike and electric van. This is especially important in city centres where pollution is at its highest.
Diesel vehicles, even the latest Euro 6 standard, are polluting and dangerous to our health. We must limit their use in towns and cities with ultra low emission zones. We need to provide efficient networks of public transport so that wherever you live there is a convenient and affordable alternative to using a car to access employment, education, shops, services and home. We should reallocate space on our roads to walking, cycling and public transport. This will reduce the need to use a car in the first place and make our towns cities and villages less polluted, healthier, safer and more pleasant places to live and work.
The plan must involve local authorities and change attitudes to issues such as parking provision and vehicle speed which are often a block to implementing good infrastructure for walking and cycling. Councils will need financial support to make the widespread changes required. For example, changing to electric dust carts means changing fuel storage infrastructure as well as the vehicles.
We also need imaginative quick fix solutions like those seen in Paris. During recent high pollution episodes, Parisians were encouraged not to use their cars and were offered free public transport. A sad contrast with the UK where the government instructed people to stay indoors and avoid exercise while leaving people free to drive and pollute to their hearts content.
The lack of action by successive governments and the subsequent threat to our health from diesel emissions, is unforgivable. There is no doubt that people have been dying and getting ill from our polluted air already. The benefits of less vehicle dominated streets are widespread, the new government should see this as an opportunity not only to clean up our air, but also to make our towns, cities and villages healthier places to live and work. The urgency for action was made abundantly clear in the Supreme Court this morning. There is no excuse for further delay.”
Keith Taylor, Green MEP for South East England, said:
“Today’s judgement is a consequence of the Government ignoring health experts, campaigners and the EU to the detriment of people’s health. The Supreme Court ruling this morning couldn’t be clearer – there must now be real ambition and determination to solve the source of the problem.
It’s not good enough to tell people that the air is bad and they should stay inside. Instead we should be looking at Paris good practice such as free public transport in towns and cities on days of high air pollution and prohibiting heavy polluting diesel vehicles from city centres”.