From April 1, London borough Kensington-Chelsea began implementing an individualized policy for charging residents’ parking permits, meaning the price of parking permits is directly linked to the carbon emissions of each vehicle. Kensington-Chelsea County is the first in the UK to implement this policy.

For example earlier, in the Kensington-Chelsea area, pricing was made according to the emission range. Among them, electric cars and Class I cars are the cheapest, with a parking permit of £ 90, while Class 7 cars are the most expensive at £ 242.

Under the new policy, parking prices will be directly determined by the carbon emissions of each vehicle, which can be calculated using a special permit calculator on the district council’s website. All electric vehicles, starting at £ 21 per license, are nearly £ 70 cheaper than the current price. The new policy aims to encourage residents to switch to green cars and pay attention to car carbon emissions.

Kensington Chelsea declared a climate emergency in 2019 and set a carbon neutralization goal by 2040. Transport continues to be the third largest carbon source in Kensington-Chelsea, according to a 2020 UK Department of Energy and Industry strategy. By March 2020, the percentage of registered vehicles in the area are electric vehicles, with only 708 of more than 33,000 permits issued to electric vehicles.

Based on the number of permits issued in 2020/21, the district council estimates that the new policy will allow nearly 26,500 residents to pay £ 50 more for parking than before.

To support the implementation of the new parking fee policy, the Kensington-Chelsea area has installed more than 430 charging stations on residential streets, covering 87% of residential areas. The district leadership promised that by April 1, all residents will be able to find a charging station within 200 meters.

Over the past four years, Kensington-Chelsea has cut carbon emissions faster than any other London area, and is aiming to achieve zero net emissions by 2030 and neutralize carbon emissions by 2040.