London - The Big Smoke? - Maybe Not …

I live in a rural part of England. Yet the size of my country means that to get to the capital - London - it is a mere two hour’s train journey.

London is often called the Big Smoke by those not living there. An almost reverent and hushed tone is applied to our country’s largest city.

The clue’s in the name. Big Smoke. Whilst London may well be an internationally vital centre for commerce, a city rich in culture, it is far from being an environmentally friendly corner of the world.

Perhaps this is about to change.

• » See also: #4 Copenhagen, Denmark: Great Bicycle City Photo Tour
• » Get EcoWorldly by RSS or sign up by email.

It must surely be positive news that a recent poll states that 66% of those living in the city support proposals recently made by Transport for London.

Vehicles emitting the most CO2 should be charged £25 a day (50 USD) to drive into the centre.

There are also plans to introduce a zero charge for the lowest emitting vehicles.

High powered sports cars, SUVs and expensive luxury vehicles would therefore have to pay this £25 a day to drive into the existing central London congestion charge zone.

The normal congestion charge of £8 will remain unchanged for the average car.

Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone said:

“These results show that the vast majority of Londoners support action to tackle climate change.

The proposals consulted upon are part of a package of measures London is taking to lead the way in averting catastrophic climate change.”

Sources:

Press Release in Full

Image courtesy of FreeFoto.com

Tweet This Post