A Government
spokesperson said:
“We are pleased that the judge dismissed two of the three
complaints. The judge found that our modelling is compliant and
that our approach to areas with major air quality problems is
‘sensible, rational and lawful’.
“The Court has also 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.”
Notes
- 21 other EU member states are also breaching legal air
quality limits.
- Present problems with air quality in the UK are the direct
result of the EU’s failed emissions testing regime, the actions
of irresponsible car manufacturers, and the rapid increase in the
number of diesel cars on the road since 2001.
- Despite this, the UK government has made significant progress
in reducing harmful emissions since 2010:
- NOx emissions are down 27%
- SO2 emissions are down 60%
- PM2.5 emissions are down
11%
- PM10 emissions are down by
7%
- NMVOCs emissions are down by 9%
- The Government is investing £3.5 billion to improve air
quality:
[Published in the AQP]
- £1bn – to support the uptake of ultra-low emissions
vehicles.
- £290m – to reduce transport emissions as part of the National
Productivity Investment Fund
- £11m – awarded to local authorities in the Air Quality
Grant.
- £89m – for a Green Bus Fund to help local authorities in
England to put over 1200 new low carbon buses on the road
- £27m – for the Clean Bus Technology Fund and Clean Vehicle
Technology Fund which has helped retrofit almost 3000 of the
oldest vehicles, mainly buses
- £1.2bn – for a Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy.
- £100m – for air quality as part of the Road Investment
Strategy, which allocated a ring-fenced fund for Highways England
to improve Air Quality on its network
- £255m – for the Implementation Fund for councils in the AQP
(also mentioned above)
[New commitments in the November 2017 Budget]:
- £220m – for a new Clean Air Fund to support individuals and
businesses impacted by local plans to improve air quality.
- £100m additional funding for the Plug-in Car Grant, to
help consumers with the cost of purchasing a new battery electric
vehicle
- £200m (matched by a further £200m private investment not
included in £3.5bn figure) – to support the wider roll-out of
electric vehicle charging infrastructure
- £40m for research and development into innovative electric
vehicle charging technology
