Mayor's �60m electric car scheme

Electric car being charged in central London

The GLA is to convert it's fleet of about 1,000 vehicles to electric

Mayor Boris Johnson has pledged every Londoner will be no more than one mile from an electric car charge point by 2015.

His £60m plan would see 22,500 charge points at workplaces, 500 on the street and 2,000 in public car parks.

Mr Johnson made the announcement at a meeting of city leaders in Copenhagen.

But London Assembly's Green Party said there are doubts about the environmental gains of charging vehicles using grid electricity.

"A golden era of clean, green electric motoring is upon us and London is well ahead of cities around the globe in preparing the right conditions for this," Mr Johnson said at the conference.

'Radical yet practical'

"There is an urgent need to tackle the risk of serious and irreversible climate change, yet this does not need to be about hair-shirt abstinence.

"I want to pursue radical yet practical steps to cut energy waste. Electric vehicles are a clear example of how technology can provide the solution to the biggest challenge of our generation."

He also said the Greater London Authority is to convert its fleet of about 1,000 vehicles to electric and Transport for London is to create a website to give electric car drivers information on where the points are and how much it might cost.

The mayor will provide a third of the £60m cost with the rest coming from central government and the private sector.

There are currently 250 electric car charge points across London according to the mayor's office.

London Assembly Green Party' member Darren Johnson said: "There are doubts about the environmental gains to be made from electric vehicles using grid electricity.

"They are clean at point of use, but may not be run on renewable, clean electricity, so would simply be moving the site of pollution from London to the power station."