UK dismisses Belgian calls for new EU air quality legislation

Secretary of state for energy and climate change Ed Davey says new EU legislation on air quality objectives is “not necessarily the answer”

Secretary of state for energy and climate change Ed Davey has dismissed Belgian calls for new EU legislation to help meet air quality objectives as “not necessarily the answer”, despite the UK failing to meet many recent targets.

Mr Davey did not go into detail, but in Monday’s statement to the House of Commons reporting on the EU Environment Council held in Luxembourg last month, he said more effort was needed to make sure existing legislation was used effectively.

secretary of state for energy and climate change Ed Davey

The Belgian delegation’s statement submitted to council delegates on October 15, however, called for the European Commission to deliver new legislation in line with the EU’s “ambitious and legitimate” Sixth Environment Action Programme and the Thematic Strategy on Air.

“Any delay impacting on our commitments would penalise the actors, who would have to take urgent or non-harmonised measures in order to provide the indispensable high level of environmental and health protection,” said the Belgian statement.

But Mr Davey’s statement on Monday (19 Nov) dismissed the idea of new laws: “On EU legislation for meeting environmental objectives–the example of air quality, the UK highlighted that new legislation was not necessarily the answer, a greater focus was needed on ensuring that current legislation was delivered.”

Commitment

The UK government’s commitment to delivering on air quality objectives has come in for criticism in the past, and in June the European Commission rejected the UK’s postponement of the deadline to meet the air quality target in 12 zones (see airqualitynews.com story).

A High Court ruling In December 2011 also  forced the government to concede that the UK was above the legal pollution limit set by the European Union, after which campaign group ClientEarth attempted to force the government to produce a new air quality strategy.

However, in May the High Court ruled that action to force the government to submit a new strategy for improving air quality would have to be carried out by the European Commission.

Mr Davey’s statement follows EU environment commissioner Janez Potočnik’s recently launched comprehensive review of the EU air legislation and declaration of 2013 as the European ‘Year of Air’.