UK government sued for bad air quality
Environmental law organisation ClientEarth has issued judicial review proceedings against the UK Government. ClientEarth is bringing the case to make the government protect people’s health from toxic levels of air pollution in towns and cities. In the UK, 29,000 people die prematurely every year because of air pollution – more people than die, or sustain serious injuries, in road traffic accidents.
The judicial review is a legal challenge to the failure of the UK Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) to produce plans that will bring nitrogen dioxide (NO2) within legal limits by 1 January 2015, and for refusing to consult the public on its latest plan for reducing dangerous airborne particles (PM10) in London – despite ClientEarth reminding them in April of their legal responsibility to do so.
Source: ClientEarth press release, 29 July 2011