Defra announced today that it was submitting its application for a further delay on crucial EU air quality targets -- targets that the UK was meant to meet by 2005 (1).
South East MEP and Green Party Leader Caroline Lucas has demanded that Government ministers step up their efforts to promote cleaner air.
Lucas, who sits on the European Parliament's Environment Committee, said: "Today's announcement by Defra serves as yet another reminder that the UK has singularly failed to act on EU air quality targets. We have no real plan for reducing levels of PM10 emitted by sectors such as transport and industrial plants. It is embarrassing for a government trying to position itself as a world leader on environmental policy. Ministers have not yet been able to adequately protect human health through the implementation of effective strategies to meet the EU's basic targets to reduce pollution."
Dr Lucas continued: "These air quality targets are not arbitrary; they are negotiated in Parliament to reduce the pollutant particles found in our air, which have been linked to asthma, cardiovascular problems and lung cancer. The government must take heed of the Commission's warnings of legal action and immediately step up efforts to meet the EU targets."
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Notes to Editors
(1) ‘Defra submits UK application to the European Commission for an extension to meet PM10 air quality limits' - http://www.defra.gov.uk/news/2009/090424.htm