Clean Air Act

You may have noticed that there is an air monitoring station opposite Selfridges on Oxford Street. The data gathered by this station should be visible on a daily basis by visiting www.londonair.org.uk but for some unknown reason the information is never available.The suspicion being that the air quality is so bad they don’t want anyone to know about it. Below, I reproduce excerpts from a press release issued by The Campaign for Clean Air in London. Government credibility on air pollution has hit a new low, shortly before the crucial Climate Change Bill debates, after being forced to admit European Commission action on Air Quality legal breaches, The Government has admitted that the United Kingdom (UK) has received a Letter of Formal Notice (first written warning) from the European Commission (the Commission) for failing to meet its legal obligations in relation to Air Quality. The admission came in a response to a Freedom of Information request submitted by the Campaign for Clean Air in London which has written again to the European Commission to urge further action. Conservative MEP for London, Mr John Bowis, was able to obtain independent confirmation that the Letter of Formal Notice was in respect of Sulphur Dioxide legal breaches and was decided by the Commission on 27 June and sent out to the UK on 29 June. The response, with UK observations to the Commission's view that UK has failed to fulfil its obligations of Air Quality Directive 1999/30/EC, was due to be received by the Commission within two months of receipt. The UK was one of only five countries in the whole European Union (EU) to receive such a letter: the others being France, Italy, Spain and Slovenia. The two month deadline for replying to the Letter of Formal Notice having passed, the Commission can issue a “Reasoned Opinion” (final written warning) before considering involving the European Court of Justice two months later. Amongst other things The Campaign for Clean Air in London believes that the European Commission move quickly to send the UK a “Reasoned Opinion” (final written warning), and involve subsequently the European Court of Justice, in respect of the SO2 legal breaches unless the UK showed by 29 August a clear and credible plan to meet the SO2 Limit Values in the short term. As John Bowis MEP points out: “Air pollution has a major health and environmental impact in our city: it is responsible for the death of 1,000 people in London each year and it shortens lives by an average of eight months. Respiratory and cardiovascular side-effects lead to increased hospital admissions, extra medication, millions of lost working days each year and hundreds of thousands of premature deaths.”