A War on Cars? London’s Pollution Charge Sparks Political Battle
A London project to create the world’s largest low-emission zone took effect on Tuesday as authorities imposed a daily charge on the most-polluting vehicles, triggering a debate between those who see the move as a sensible step to clean up the air and those who say it amounts to a war on cars. While several big European cities like Berlin and Paris also impose charges on polluting cars and trucks, London has been a pioneer on the issue. It became the first major European city to force drivers to pay a congestion fee in 2003.
But it has also become a lightning rod for a wider debate across many leading cities in the world about who should bear the costs of meeting pollution targets. New York City has repeatedly delayed plans to become the first major North American city to impose a congestion charge for cars, a plan that faces heavy opposition from commuters in neighboring New Jersey. Madrid implemented a low-emission zone and briefly suspended it in 2019, but then reinstated it under judicial order.
It now plans to expand it to the entire city next year. The London rules broadly mean that anyone with a gasoline-powered car that was built before 2006, or a diesel vehicle registered before 2015, will now have to pay 12.50 pounds a day, equivalent to about $16, to drive in London or buy a newer car. The so-called ultralow emission zone, or ULEZ, was first imposed in 2019 in the heart of London but as of Tuesday it will encompass the whole city, adding some five million more residents to the restrictions.
Low-emission zones are already in place in several big British cities and have enjoyed broad political support. But the expansion in London has generated far more controversy. The ruling Conservative government has leapt on
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