CAMPAIGN RESPONSE: 22 February 2009

Consultation on the draft UK notification to the European Commission to secure additional time to meet the limit values for particulate matter for certain zones/agglomerations in accordance with the Council Directive 2008/50/EC on ambient air quality and cleaner air for Europe

UK fails to satisfy in London any of the three conditions for a time extension to comply with legal standards for dangerous airborne particles (PM10)

European Commission should ‘throw the rule book’ at the UK, and reject its application, unless the UK submits a wholly convincing plan to improve air quality in London

London needs one or more additional inner low emission zones implemented by early 2010 backed by a fully funded government ‘green deal’

The purpose of this letter is to respond on behalf of the Campaign for Clean Air in London (CCAL) to the consultation (the Consultation) being carried out by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) on the draft United Kingdom (UK) notification to the European Commission (the Commission) to secure additional time to meet the limit values for particulate matter (PM10) for certain zones/agglomerations in accordance with the Council Directive 2008/50/EC on ambient air quality and cleaner air for Europe (the new AQ Directive). The consultation documents can be found at:

http://www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/consult/air-quality/index.htm

This letter is addressed jointly to the Secretary of State for Transport because CCAL understands that the Department for Transport (DfT) has joint responsibility with Defra for the UK meeting its legal obligations in respect of air quality.

The Prime Minister has been copied, given the cross-departmental issues raised, and all London’s MEPs and others have been copied given that the Commission has already started legal action against the UK for failing to notify a time extension by the deadline set by the Commission of 31 October 2008.

As you know, only the UK, Cyprus, Estonia, Portugal, Slovenia and Sweden out of some 24 countries have failed so far to submit any time extension notification plans to the Commission.

Summary

In CCAL’s carefully considered view, the UK does not satisfy either of the pre-conditions for it to obtain a time extension to comply with limit values for PM10.

In particular, the UK fails to pass either the ‘First condition’ – measures to achieve compliance by the initial attainment date; or the ‘Specific condition for PM10’ – site-specific dispersion characteristics, adverse climatic conditions or transboundary contributions. Both of these pre-conditions must be met if the UK is to obtain a time extension to comply with limit values for PM10.

CCAL would need to be completely wrong on every point made in this letter in connection with the above pre-conditions if the UK is to be eligible for a time extension to comply with limit values for PM10. This seems highly unlikely given that the questions are ones of fact.

Furthermore the UK has made no reasonable effort yet to satisfy the ‘Second condition’ – measures to achieve compliance before the new deadline. It has not been helped in this regard by: its reliance on measures that the Mayor of London says he plans to scrap or suspend; its vague words about committing to work with the Mayor of London; and/or its obvious non-compliance over at least part of the London road network even by 2011 (i.e. six kilometres or is it 12 kilometres with modeling errors?).

CCAL will therefore urge the Commission to ‘throw the rule book’ at the UK and reject its time extension notification (TEN) for failing to meet the conditions necessary for such a time extension unless the UK submits a wholly convincing and timely plan by the deadline set by the first written warning (i.e. Letter of Formal Notice). To be wholly convincing, such a plan must be backed by all necessary funding and immediate action to ensure that limit values for PM10 will be complied with sustainably throughout London by no later than 11 June 2011.

CCAL will urge the Commission to progress vigorously legal action, in parallel with any consideration of a belated TEN from the UK, against the UK and the five other Member States that failed to submit a TEN by the Commission’s deadline of 31 October 2008. These countries are clearly in need of ‘encouragement’. Otherwise, what incentive would there be in future for any country to comply within the first six months of a deadline set by the Commission? CCAL understands that the fines against the UK could total £300 million just in respect of PM10. The Commission is not on some ‘frolic’: all the fault sits at the government’s feet after more than 10 years of inaction and disregard for deadlines and/or repeated warnings.

CCAL urges the government to learn now from its serious failings to comply with limit values for PM10 – including the current difficulties it faces in applying for a time extension – and to propose and implement rapidly plans to comply fully with limit values for NO2 by January 2010.

In CCAL’s carefully considered view, the UK is likely currently to miss - by a large margin - not just the limit values for NO2 due to be met since 1999 by January 2010 but also the limit value plus margin of tolerance which must not be exceeded if the time extension provisions are to be used. CCAL considers currently therefore that the UK should not waste everyone’s time by submitting a TEN on NO2 – it should instead focus all its energies on complying urgently with the limit values for NO2 (as it will need to do when legal action is surely launched against it). The UK needs a convincing action plan for NO2 now.

Finally, the UK seems to be one of the least compliant countries and worst ‘free-riders’ in the whole of Europe when it comes to complying with air pollution legislation. We need urgent and energetic cross-departmental action, lead personally by the Prime Minister, if sustainability issues are to be addressed holistically.   more »