Pollution At Aberthaw Power Station ‘Too High’ Rules European Court Of Justice

The UK government has failed in limiting pollution emissions, the European Court of Justice has ruled, from the power station in Aberthaw in South Wales.

The coal-fired station in the Vale of Glamorgan has emitted more than double the legal amount of toxic nitrogen oxides for seven years. Mike Childs, head of science, policy and research, for Friends of the Earth, responded to today’s ruling by saying:

This is a vindicating decision.

“The pollution from Aberthaw is unacceptable for the people near the power station in South Wales, but detrimental effects are felt as far away as Exeter, Bristol, Swindon and Bournemouth. We need a full and permanent closure. Today’s decision should help bring that about, it is the only sensible solution unless we are prepared to accept premature deaths and children’s ill health as a reasonable price to pay for corporate profit.”

“This decision also points to the critical importance of the UK retaining environmental legislation once we leave the European Union.”

Commenting on the European Court of Justice’s ruling that the UK Government failed to limit emissions from Aberthaw power station in the Vale of Glamorgan, Rebecca Williams, Climate and Energy Specialist at WWF-UK said:

 “This judgement is yet another nail in the coffin for the UK’s dirty old coal power stations.  UK Ministers have committed to phasing out coal, to improve public health, boost clean energy investment and tackle climate change. The new Government should now publish the promised consultation on phasing out coal.”

 WWF Cymru Policy and Advocacy Officer Jessica McQuade said:

 “Wales has been let down by the UK Government’s failure to tackle the blight of pollution. This ruling highlights that it is no longer acceptable for people’s health to be ignored in decisions about how we produce energy and grow the economy. 

“The Well-being of Future Generations Act requires the health of people and the environment, as well as the economy, to be taken into account in all decision-making.

“We hope that that will inspire both the UK Government and the Welsh Government to meet the challenge of creating a clean and low-carbon economy for Wales.”