Jan. 30 (Bloomberg) -- London's Borough of Richmond approved a plan to triple parking charges to 300 pounds ($588) for owners of gas-guzzling vehicles, such as Porsches, Jaguars and Range Rovers, under a plan to reduce pollution.

Officials in Richmond, southwest London, agreed at a packed council meeting last night to introduce the plan in May, the borough said in a statement on its Web site today. At least five other local London boroughs -- including Kensington & Chelsea, Camden and Haringey -- are considering similar plans.

Richmond motorists currently pay up to 100 pounds ($188) a year for a parking permit. The new plan would cut charges for owners of compact cars and raise them for drivers of larger vehicles. London Mayor Ken Livingstone is considering a similar pay scale for the city's traffic-congestion charge zone.

``Climate change is the defining issue of our age,'' said Serge Lourie, leader of Richmond Council, in a statement. ``For our council, this is just the first step in a long process that will see us bring forward policies to move our borough and council to lower carbon emissions.''

Owners of Honda Insight gasoline-electric powered vehicles would pay nothing for a parking permit. Vehicles with the largest engines, would pay 300 pounds a year. These include Jaguar X type 2.0-liter gasoline sedan, a Porsche 911 Carrera coupe with a 3.6- liter engine, a 2-liter gasoline Renault Espace and a Range Rover with a 4.4-liter engine, according to the examples given by the council.

The borough's council is controlled by Liberal Democrats, the third-largest U.K. national party. Richmond has a population of 179,000 people, according to a 2001 census. It's a relatively affluent area of the U.K. capital, and rock stars Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones and Pete Townshend of The Who have homes there.

To contact the reporter on this story: Brian Lysaght in London at blysaght@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: January 30, 2007 12:01 EST