The European Commission has rejected the United Kingdom’s request for additional time to comply with EU legislation on air quality in London.  Commenting on this decision, the Chair of the London Assembly Environment Committee, Murad Qureshi AM, said:

“The European Commission’s decision is not unexpected.  Our cross-party response  to the Mayor’s draft air quality strategy indicated a number of areas where further work was needed to make it a credible response to London’s poor air quality.

“In the light of this ruling, the Mayor will need to move swiftly to amend his strategy strengthening the actions necessary to reduce harmful PM10 pollution concentrations.   I would urge the Mayor to revisit our July 2009 report, Every Breath You Take, and more recently, our response to his draft strategy, which calls for the Mayor to set out the impact, costings and timescales of his proposals.

“Our recommendations will help the Mayor put an air quality strategy in place that will protect the health of Londoners and avoid the risk of a substantial fine.

“Reducing air pollution is not just about improving the environment in some abstract way.  This is about saving lives.”

Source: London.gov

Net News Publisher for World News