Mayor of London Sadiq Khan (Victoria Jones/PA)
(Picture: PA Wire)We should all be proud of how London is leading the electric vehicle revolution. Last year 20 per cent of all new vehicles registered in London were plug-ins — either battery electric or plug-in hybrid EVs. Last month our city also passed the milestone of 10,000 electric vehicle charge points, a third of the total in the United Kingdom. We now have the best ratio of public charge points to electric vehicles, even though Londoners are half as likely to own a car as the rest of the country. It’s not just about numbers.
We can see these changes reflected in the city’s landscape: more plug-in lamp-posts in our neighbourhoods, more electric vehicle berths at garages and more dedicated rapid charge point hubs for taxis, delivery and courier drivers. Continuing this progress is going to be key to tackling pollution levels in London as well as the climate emergency – helping us to clean up our air and bring down harmful road traffic emissions.
However, we all know that we must urgently accelerate this shift away from petrol and diesel-powered cars. So I want to congratulate the Evening Standard for launching its Plug It In campaign, which couldn’t be more timely or needed. The supply of charge points is struggling to keep up with people’s demand for electric vehicles, which is only set to increase with motorists becoming more environmentally conscious and the Government planning to phase out new petrol and diesel cars and vans by the end of the decade.
Transport for London projects that the capital will need between 40,000 to 60,000 public charge points by 2030, and while a 148 per cent increase in public charge points since 2019 is encouraging, we can’t rest on our laurels. Instead, let’s think about what we can achieve together. If we can support the predicted number of new electric vehicles in London, nearly half the total distance travelled by cars in our city will be by electric car just eight years from now. A total 2.6 million tonnes of carbon dioxide could be saved per year, enough energy to power half a million homes for a year. I’m firmly committed to working with the public and private sectors to accelerate the transition to zero emission vehicles.
Through Transport for London’s Electric Vehicle Strategy we’re exploring how we can unlock land owned by the Greater London Authority and London’s boroughs for charging. This could accommodate up to 1,000 rapid charge points, which charge a vehicle in 20 minutes, providing a quarter of our city’s requirement. Government funding has been vital in recent years to let London make the progress it has. But we will need ongoing funding to help maintain consumer confidence in electric vehicles and accelerate the switch, as well as greater investment from the private sector.
Electric vehicles are central to my vision of a transport system that tackles the climate emergency that threatens our planet, and dramatically improves people’s health, because we cannot continue to allow toxic air to cause thousands of premature deaths and cases of debilitating illnesses every year. We’ve already introduced and expanded the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ), delivered more than 5,000 zero emission-capable black taxis and put more than 800 zero-emission buses on our roads, the largest such fleet in western Europe. Taken together, my policies are forecast to reduce the number of air quality-related hospital admissions by one million by 2050. And 20 years from now, the plan is for 80 per cent of all journeys to be walked, cycled or taken using public transport.
Those who argue that we cannot afford such a green revolution couldn’t be more wrong. The cost of inaction, to our economies, livelihoods, the environment and the health of Londoners, is far greater than the cost of transitioning to net zero. We simply don’t have time to waste.
London is already showing real global leadership on clean transport but we can’t allow any room for complacency. It’s great to know that the Evening Standard and its readers will be joining us and helping to speed up our journey to a greener future.
