Boris Johnson urged to cut pollution to avoid EU fines
31 March 2009
THE Government is to seek an urgent meeting with Mayor Boris Johnson to discuss how to tackle illegal air-pollution levels in London and avoid unlimited fines from Europe.
In a bid to dodge heavy penalties, air quality minister Jonathan Shaw has written to the Mayor, offering the expertise of officials at the Department for Environment.
The letter says that Britain plans to ask for an extension until June 2011 to meet air quality requirements imposed by the European Union.
Britain has been breaking EU air quality laws on particulate pollution for three years. A new EU air quality directive will force the UK also to reduce nitrogen dioxide pollution on some of the capital’s busiest streets by more than a third by the end of 2009.
Up to 319,000 people in London are exposed to nitrogen dioxide levels above EU limits, the Government says.
It is expected that the capital will have to introduce additional low-emission zones with tighter standards than the existing zone, which covers only large vehicles, and demand that vehicles are fitted with pollution-abatement equipment.
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