The Guardian: "Air pollution: European commission launches legal action against the UK"

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"The UK faces fines of up to £300m a year and embarrassing court appearances after the European commission launched legal proceedings against it for failing to reduce 'excessive' levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) air pollution from traffic, despite 15 years of warnings and several extensions and postponements granted to the government.

"Other European countries have also failed to meet the air quality directive – that should have been adopted in 2008 – but the EU environment commissioner, Janez Potočnik, has singled Britain out for its 'persistent' breaches of the air quality directive.

"... While most British cities have plans to reduce traffic fumes to within the legal limit by 2020, London has insisted that it could not meet its NO2 targets set in 1999 until 2025 at the earliest. London has the highest levels of NO2 of any European capital city and the UK has the highest proportion of zones breaching legal limits."