200,000 die early as Ministers lobby EU to cut clean air target

The Environmental Audit Committee of MPs said Ministers were trying to get EU air quality standards diluted to avoid fines, instead of taking action to address unsafe levels of pollutants such as particulates and nitrogen dioxide.

A previous report from the committee before the last election found that up to 50,000 people a year died early as a result of pollution, with 4,000 premature deaths in London alone, and thousands more were being made ill.

The report said pollutants such as ozone, nitrogen oxides and particulate matter from transport and power stations contributed to conditions such as asthma, heart disease and cancer, costing society up to £20bn a year.

A report by the EAC today said that despite growing evidence of the damage air pollution was doing, the Government had failed to get to grips with the problem.

The committee said 40 out of the UK’s 43 assessment zones are failing to meet EU targets and poor air quality had been found, since the last report, to be shortening the lives of up to 200,000 people by an average of two years.

But, the MPs said, the Environment Department (Defra) and the Department for Transport did not mention air quality in their business plans.

The committee raised concerns about proposals to shift more of the responsibility for tackling pollution, and the fines for failing to do so, on to local authorities, some of whom may not be able to control the air quality in their areas – for example if they are close to a major airport or motorways.

Joan Walley, the committee’s chair, said: “It is a national scandal that thousands of people are still dying from air pollution in the UK in 2011 – and the Government is taking no responsibility for this.

“It is often the poorest people in our cities who live near the busiest roads and breathe in diesel fumes, dangerous chemicals and bits of tyre every day. If you have heart disease, asthma or other respiratory illnesses then living near a congested road like this can literally take years off your life.

“Despite a coalition pledge to meet European safety standards on air pollution, the Government appears to be lobbying behind the scenes to water these rules down.”

The report calls for the Government to make air pollution a priority, work with local councils on the issue, establish a national framework of low-emissions zones and launch a public awareness campaign informing people how they can reduce emissions and their exposure to pollution.

Alan Andrews, air quality lawyer at environmental law firm ClientEarth, said: “The report makes it clear that the Government is failing in its legal and moral duty to protect the public from the harmful health effects of air pollution.

“The Government does not have a strategy for dealing with this problem. It is simply putting off taking action while behind the scenes it lobbies the EU to weaken limits.”

And he said: “Under the banner of its localism agenda it is dumping the problem on local authorities, who simply do not have the resources to tackle what is a national problem.”

James Grugeon, chief executive of environmental charity Environmental Protection UK, said: “The fact that air quality does not even make the lead department’s business plan speaks volumes about the Government’s complacency and inaction on this issue.”

A Defra spokeswoman said: “The Government is working towards full compliance with EU air quality standards and significant progress has been made in improving air quality over recent years. We are investing significant sums to facilitate further reductions in pollution around transport, including over £1bn to promote the uptake of ultra low emission vehicle technologies and to support local transport authorities to deliver sustainable transport measures.”