London drivers ‘could pay per mile' so Sadiq Khan can hit net zero target (Image: GETTY)

       Sadiq Khan's ambitious net zero targets could require London motorists to pay per mile by the end of the decade, new documents have suggested, as the debate around the hot-button issue of the mayoral elections heats up.

       The serving Mayor of London has repeatedly ruled out introducing the controversial policy that would, in theory, require motorists to pay rates by the mile based on their car emissions.

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       But Conservatives, namely the serving mayor's key rival Susan Hall, have argued the pledge is untrustworthy, with references to the policy included in his official transport strategy documents and a "comprehensive, road user charging system" mentioned in his 2023 book "Breathe".

       New documents have revealed yet another occasion when the mayor suggested a pay-per-mile policy would be necessary to meet lofty environmental ambitions.

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       In an official report, he admitted it was "only possible" to reach decarbonisation goals by charging drivers.

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       Mr Khan's latest manifesto for the 2024 elections has restated aims to make London a "net zero-carbon city by 2030" in a fashion "faster than any comparable city".

       The Daily Telegraph reported that, in January 2022, the Mayor's office commissioned sustainability consultancy firm Element Energy to research "pathways" to realising carbon neutrality.

       The research concluded that all scenarios to delivering on that goal would require "road user charging being introduced as early as possible", with charging being "one of the key early building blocks of any package".

       After picking an "accelerated green" pathway seeking 22 percent "residual emissions" by 2030, something the Element Energy report said would require "London-wide road-user charging" to be introduced between the "mid-late 2020s".

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       Mr Khan's formal response, also delivered in January 2022, agreed that reductions of 27 percent in the "accelerated green" scenario were "only possible with some form of road user charging".

       He also advocated for abolishing "all existing road user charges" and replacing them with a "fair scheme" where Londoners "pay-per-mile".

       But the mayor, who is running for his third term in office, has since changed his mind, according to his spokesman, who said he has "repeatedly and categorically ruled out pay-per-mile for as long as he is mayor".

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       They said: "It will not be introduced in London, despite misleading statements from the Tories saying otherwise.

       "The road-user charging scheme was originally proposed by Boris Johnson as mayor and by Rishi Sunak as chancellor.

       "Sadiq has repeatedly ruled out any such scheme while he is mayor."

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