The Eye Of Media

By Edward Trotter-

A High Court judge judge has condemned the failure of the UK government in effectively tackling air pollution, in a strong verdict on Wednesday.

The judge ruled that the courts must “keep the pressure” on the Government to make sure it meets prescribed targets on air pollution, in what was a third victory for Client Earth on this matter.

Criticising the “continuing failure” of the UK government to reduce harmful nitrogen dioxide levels to within legal limits, mr.Justice Garnham was blunt in his verdict.

The judge however did rejected ClientEarth’s case in relation to the Government’s monitoring and modelling and its plans for five cities, including London, which are not expected to reach compliance until 2028.

He said the approach to the five cities was “sensible, rational and lawful”.

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A £3bn programme to clean up dirty air around UK roads was proposed by ministers in 2017. Included in the approach, was a commitment by the Government to the phase-out of new car sales for petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2040.

ClientEarth were unimpressed with the idea or its results, and argued that the plan fails to deliver on previous commitments to introduce clean air zones in five cities by 2020, Neither does it require any action in 40 English local authorities, despite them breaching EU air quality limits.

Justice Garnham described the fact that ClientEarth can bring the UK Government back to court immediately as “wholly exceptional”, while the environmental law firm noted the ruling as legal history.

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REBUKE

In a stern rebuke against the government’s handling of the issue, Garnham branded current plans drawn up last year to have been unlawful because of their failure to comply with either a European directive or English regulations designed to reduce levels of the pollutant.

Judge Graham said: “It is now eight years since compliance should have been achieved and the 2017 air quality plan is the third unsuccessful attempt the Government has made.

“All the while, the health of those living in towns and cities across the country has continued to be at risk.”

He said he had no doubt the Government has acted in good faith and worked hard to reduce air pollution.

However, he added:

“The history of this litigation demonstrates that good faith, hard work and sincere promises are not enough.

“The court it seems must keep the pressure on the Government to ensure compliance with the directive is actually achieved.”

URGENT

Highlighting the importance of the government addressing the air pollution issue, Garnham described it as “urgent” , adding that Client Earth has acted responsibly as a “monitor” of the Government’s actions. Ministers now have the task of ensuring that councils draw up urgent plans to reduce pollution, as the remaining 12 are expected to comply with the regulations by the end of this year.

The measures in last year’s plan included £255 million to help local authorities come up with ways to improve air quality, and proposals to end the sale of all conventional petrol and diesel cars by 2040.

The judge rejected ClientEarth’s case in relation to the Government’s monitoring and modelling and its plans for five cities, including London, which are not expected to reach compliance until 2028.

He said the approach to the five cities was “sensible, rational and lawful”.

ClientEarth’s latest case was brought against the Environment Secretary and the Transport Secretary, while a claim against the Welsh Government was discontinued after it agreed to work on new proposals.

Welsh ministers accepted their air quality plan did not meet the requirements of either the European directive or Welsh regulations, and said they were prepared to give an undertaking to rectify the situation.

Ministers unveiled a new plan last year which proposes a £3bn programme to clean up dirty air around UK roads. As part of the strategy, the Government has committed to the phase-out of new car sales for petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2040.

But the plan fails to deliver on previous commitments to introduce clean air zones in five cities by 2020, says ClientEarth. Neither does it require any action in 40 English local authorities, despite them breaching EU air quality limits.

ClientEarth lawyer Anna Heslop said: “We are delighted that the court has today ordered the Government to urgently take further action to fix the dangerous air pollution in our towns and cities.”

A Government spokeswoman said: “The court has asked us to go further in areas with less severe air quality problems.

“We had previously considered that it was sufficient to take a pragmatic, less formal approach to such areas.

“However, in view of the court’s judgment, we are happy to take a more formal line with them.

“We have already delivered significant improvements in air quality since 2010 and we will continue to implement our £3.5 billion air quality plan.”

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