Supreme Court orders government action on UK air quality

The UK's highest court has sent a shiver through the diesel car industry by ordering the government to show it is serious about tackling air pollution blighting London and other cities.

In a unanimous judgment, the Supreme Court said the government must speed up efforts to meet European pollution standards and submit new air quality plans to Brussels no later than December 31, regardless of the May 7 election outcome.

"The new government, whatever its political complexion, should be left in no doubt as to the need for immediate action to address this issue," the court ruled.

The move stems from an EU air quality directive that gave the UK until 2010 to curb traffic fumes that are a leading source of nitrogen dioxide, or N02, a harmful gas linked to heart attacks and asthma.

The government said it could take until 2030 before N02 levels meet EU standards in several cities, including London, prompting a five-year legal battle with ClientEarth, an environmental law group that launched a case to hasten action.

ClientEarth lawyer Alan Andrews said Wednesday's ruling would save thousands of lives and could have implications for plans to expand sites such as Heathrow airport.

"The next government will have to carefully consider the impact of all major projects, including airports, on nitrogen dioxide levels, particularly in light of the legal requirement to achieve limits in the shortest time possible," he told the FT.

The ruling is likely to add to what the car industry feels is a "creeping demonisation" of diesel cars, which have been heavily promoted under various government initiatives and now make up about a third of passenger cars on Britain's roads.

The vehicles emit less carbon dioxide in exhaust fumes than petrol equivalents but are also a source of N02.

Richard Gane, director of motor industry consultants Vendigital, said: "If the government decides to fast-forward its plans to reduce N02 emissions, this would add weight to the growing environmental lobby against diesel engine vehicles and could lead to them being phased out, perhaps via an incentivised scrappage scheme."

Mike Hawes, chief executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, said the industry recognised the country's air quality problems but stressed that diesel engines were cleaner than ever and urged policy makers to take account of "other sources, such as electricity generation and heating, which between them account for more than half of N02 emitted in the UK".

However, campaign groups accused the motor industry of "greenwashing". Transport & Environment, the Brussels-based think-tank, said research showed that 12 out of 13 of the latest diesel cars failed to achieve the EU's "Euro 6" standards for exhaust emissions on the road.

London mayor Boris Johnson plans to introduce an "ultra-low emission zone" in 2020, which would see the "congestion charge", payable by all vehicles in central London, almost doubled for older diesel vehicles.

Paris has promised to phase out diesel vehicles from the city by the end of this decade.

The British Heart Foundation welcomed the Supreme Court's ruling, saying research suggests 35,000 to 50,000 people could die prematurely each year in the UK because of short term exposure to air pollution.

Scientists say nitrogen dioxide has been found in excessive levels in some parts of the capital such as Oxford Street, where diesel trucks, buses and vans are a leading source. It is also a problem in cities including Leeds and Birmingham.

Some lawyers said Wednesday's court judgment could trigger air quality legal challenges across Europe, where several other governments have struggled to meet EU air pollution targets.

"EU lawmakers may now find themselves under some pressure to rethink the directive and the EU's approach to managing pollution levels," said Ellie Watson of law firm Pinsent Masons.

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