Friends of the Earth Cardiff Cyfeillion y Ddaear Caerdydd

Tremofa Steelworks. Photo: Chris Brown, Cardiff Friends of the Earth

Client Earth yesterday told the government it is appealing against a High Court ruling, which found that the Secretary of State for the Environment, Caroline Spelman, broke EU air quality laws by not tackling high levels of urban pollution. The ruling stopped short of ordering the government to release its plans for tackling air pollution saying that this was the EU Commission's role.

Last month Mrs Spelman was forced to admit that her department had breached the EU's Air Quality Directive when it drafted air quality plans that wouldn't reduce pollution levels quickly enough in many parts of the UK.

The Department of Environment Food and Rural affairs (Defra) last year consulted on a range of measures designed to bring nitrogen dioxide (NO2) levels within legal limits by 1 January 2015, including proposals to encourage more local councils to introduce low-emissions zones for road transport.

However, draft plans showed that 17 of the air quality zones, including Cardiff, wouldn't comply by 2015, meaning the UK could be fined millions of pounds by Brussels for failing to hit the target.

Client Earth believes that the UK courts have the power to enforce the EU laws, and wants them to them to change their interpretation of the directive.

The hearing is unlikely to take place before mid-February.