Fortunately, the famous London Fogs are a thing of the past, but the UK capital continues to take steps to improve air quality. Drivers in central London must pay a hefty Congestion Charge of around £11.50 (about $15), subject to discounts for “Ultra Low Emission” vehicles. Now the city’s famous financial district, known formally as the City of London, or colloquially as the Square Mile, has implemented emissions-based parking fees.

The new parking charges will be calculated by RingGo’s Emissions-Based Parking product, which automatically assesses the type of vehicle being parked and charges tariffs based on its level of emissions. EVs and hybrids will pay 4 quid per hour, newer gas and diesel motorcars will pay £5.20, and old smokers will pay £6.80.
The new emissions-tiered parking fees represent only one of several measures introduced by the City Corporation to improve air quality:

• The City Corporation is converting its own fleet of 300 vehicles to plug-ins.
• The Barbican housing estate now sports some 30 EV charging points.
• The CityAir Program cracks down on drivers who leave their engines idling.
• A cargo bike delivery scheme aims to shift deliveries from diesel and petrol vans to cargo bicycles.
• Addison Lee, London’s biggest private taxi firm, uses technology that automatically switches hybrid taxis to EV mode in parts of the Square Mile.

Source: City of London via Green Car Congress