Courts can order EU governments to do more for clean air

The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom should take “any necessary measure” to make sure the British government speeds up improvement of the country's air quality, the European Union's Court of Justice ruled on Wednesday (19 November).

The ruling is a victory for the environmental NGO ClientEarth, which had sued the UK for not doing enough to tackle air pollution.

It is the first decision by the EU Court on the implementation of the 2008 air quality directive, which put a limit on...