20\/02\/2014 THE European Commission has slammed the Government over its failure to meet minimum safety standards by preventing air pollution in London.<\/p>\n
It has issued a ‘letter of formal notice’ – the first stage in legal proceedings that could see the UK face fines of up to \u00a3300m a year for London alone – for failing to meet EU standards on clean air.<\/p>\n
London’s Green Party MEP Jean Lambert, a founder supporter of the campaign group Clean Air in London, said she hoped the legal action will serve as a wake-up-call.<\/p>\n
“I hope this formal letter now sees a serious response and is the start of a process which will see London’s air cleaned up, people’s health improved – and a reduction in the number of Londoners dying prematurely each year due to air pollution: some 4000 at last count,” she said.<\/p>\n
“Poor air quality really is a matter of life and death, and I am shocked that the Government and the Mayor of London have repeatedly failed to take any significant action to improve it and meet their obligations.<\/p>\n
“The latest figures show that some of the poorest areas of the capital have the worst air quality – so this isn’t just a public health issue, it’s an equality issue.<\/p>\n
“Air pollution is largely caused by diesel exhaust fumes, and we need the government, the Mayor of London and the London Borough councils to act to reduce them immediately.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
20\/02\/2014 THE European Commission has slammed the Government over its failure to meet minimum safety standards by preventing air pollution in London. It has issued a ‘letter of formal notice’ – the first stage in legal proceedings that could see the UK face fines of up to \u00a3300m a year for London alone – for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":760,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[111,18,113,77,984],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n