London will need to act decisively in order to reach net-zero by 2030 and help the UK reach its national target, announced before COP26.
Between 2000 and 2018, London achieved a 57 per cent reduction in workplace greenhouse gas emissions, but only a 7 per cent reduction in emissions from transport.
In order to reduce transport emissions by anywhere close to the amount required to clean up London’s air, achieve net-zero by 2030 and cut congestion, the capital will have to see a significant shift away from petrol and diesel vehicle use and towards walking and cycling, public transport use and cleaner vehicles.
The capital has seen a shift to driving during the pandemic with the cost of congestion rising to over £5 billion last year, leading to gridlocked roads and toxic air pollution. The number of miles being driven in the capital has increased in recent years, even though more than a third of car trips in London could be walked in under 25 minutes and two-thirds cycled in less than 20 minutes.
In order to achieve anywhere near the required reduction in car use, London will need a new kind of road user charging system. Such a system could abolish all existing road user charges – such as the Congestion Charge and ULEZ – and replace them with a simple scheme where drivers pay per mile, with different rates depending on how polluting vehicles are, the level of congestion in the area and access to public transport.
“The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “I’m not willing to stand by and wait when there’s more we can do in London that could make a big difference. We simply don’t have time to waste. The climate emergency means we only have a small window of opportunity left to reduce carbon emissions to help save the planet, and, despite the world-leading progress we have made over the last few years, there is still far too much toxic air pollution permanently damaging the lungs of young Londoners.
“This is also a matter of social justice – with air pollution hitting the poorest communities the hardest. Londoners on lower incomes are more likely to live in areas of the city most badly affected by air pollution and least likely to own a car. Nearly half of Londoners don’t own a car, but they are disproportionally feeling the damaging consequences polluting vehicles are causing.”
Meanwhile, in The Netherlands, a country that is decades ahead of us in terms of their provision for sustainable transport, planners assess the effect of new cycling infrastructure by how many have switched from driving to cycling.
The ethical choice
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Doug M
I am an 80+ road user living in outer London (Middlesex, 1/2 mile from the Herts border) who walks, runs or cycles when appropriate. However, my wife has much less mobility than me. I therefore have to use my car for essential journeys. I feel that charging all car users per mile in the whole of London is an unfair imposition, and will lead to rationing by wealth. Another of Mr Khan’s ill-thought out ideas.
I add that I never drive to or through Central London (i.e. within the North and South Circular ring).
The ETA
You are assuming that under a road user charging model you will pay more. The charge levied is likely to take into account many factors – not least the time of day travelled, route taken, type of vehicle being used etc. Furthermore, it’s likely that there would be reduced rates for the disabled.