‘A lifeline for dirty cars’: EU backs new air pollution limits, but not until 2035

Air pollution over Paris. Almost everyone in Europe’s urban areas breathes air with levels of fine particles in excess of the WHO’s guidelines. Photograph: Vincent Isore/ZUMA Press/Rex/Shutterstock

The EU has voted to clean its air by setting tough limits on pollutants in a move that experts say will save lives and money.

The European parliament agreed on Wednesday to limit the concentration of several dangerous substances to levels put forward by the World Health Organization (WHO). But after a fierce backlash from centre-right politicians, it decided to push back the date for meeting the WHO’s limits by five years.