Green group wins air pollution court battle

Read the article and answer the Questions below

Campaigners have won the latest battle in legal action against the UK Government over levels of air pollution.

A judge at the High Court in London ruled in favour of environmental lawyers ClientEarth.

The group called air pollution a "public health crisis" and said the government has failed to tackle it.

The ruling in the judicial review called the government's plan "woefully inadequate".

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) told the BBC that it accepted the court's judgment.

ClientEarth won a separate, Supreme Court ruling against the government in April 2015.

That judgment ordered ministers to come up with a plan to bring down air pollution to within legal limits as soon as possible.

But ClientEarth was dissatisfied with those proposals, and took the government to the High Court in a judicial review.

'Over-optimistic'

In the ruling on Wednesday morning, Mr Justice Garnham said the 2015 Air Quality Plan (AQP), devised when Liz Truss MP was Environment Secretary, failed to comply with the Supreme Court judgment and EU directives.

Mr Justice Garnham. said the Secretary of State "fell into error" by fixing on a projected compliance date of 2020 (and 2025 for London).

In particular, he drew attention to the cost implications of bringing in Clean Air Zones no earlier than 2020.

The evidence demonstrates clearly that Clean Air Zones, the measure identified in the plan as the primary means of reducing nitrogen dioxide emissions, could be introduced more quickly than 2020," Mr Justice Garnham said.

In February, the Royal Colleges of Physicians and of Paediatrics and Child Health said outdoor air pollution was contributing to some 40,000 early deaths a year in the UK.

ClientEarth chief executive James Thornton commented: "This is an urgent public health crisis over which the Prime Minister must take personal control.

"I challenge Theresa May to take immediate action now to deal with illegal levels of pollution and prevent tens of thousands of additional early deaths in the UK. The High Court has ruled that more urgent action must be taken."

Question

Which court ruled against the government?

What was the name of the Pressure group?

What happened in 2015 and what did the government have to do?

What did the Judge say about Clean Air Zones?

How many deaths per year is air pollution related to?

What challenge has ClientEarth given to the PM