THE Welsh Government could push ahead with tolls on roads like the M4 in Newport, as part of its latest action against climate change.

Ministers have published plans for a new Clean Air Act this week, laying out proposals for tackling air and noise pollution.

It includes further work on developing congestion charge-type systems for drivers who travel on some of the nation’s busiest roads, including a stretch of motorway running through the middle of Newport.

Charging drivers to use these roads could help drive down emissions of pollutants like nitrogen dioxide and meet legal targets – something the government Wales has been “failing” to do “around a number of roads”.

Clean Air Zones (CAZs) would be set up around problem stretches of highways owned and managed by the government as part of the Welsh trunk road network. This typically comprises the motorways and main dual carriageways.

The government has already taken some action to curb emissions on the M4 in Newport, installing 50mph average speed cameras between Tredegar Park and Coldra after a commission said the system would allow for a smoother flow of traffic.

But if these speed limits “fail to  ensure long-term compliance then CAZs will be considered at these locations”, a new government report reveals.

Change is “essential for ministers to have an effective range of powers to tackle road traffic pollution”, according to the government, which plans to improve air quality by “reducing the need to travel” as well as ensuring transport services are “accessible, sustainable and efficient”.

The government now plans to give itself the power to bring in these Clean Air Zones where they are needed.

The Welsh Conservatives have condemned the policy, claiming the government is "all stick and no carrot" in its approach to transport, which also includes the recent controversial Roads Review.

"People are already struggling with the cost of living and this is the last thing they need right now," the Tories said.

This isn’t the first time in recent years the Welsh Government has talked up the prospect of “road-user charging” for environmental reasons.

Ministers have also developed a national transport delivery plan which would include giving powers to councils to enforce congestion charge schemes at a local level - something Newport City Council has balked at over concerns people on lower incomes would be the hardest-hit.

The idea of road-user charging was also raised by the Burns commission set up after Mark Drakeford cancelled the M4 relief road project for Newport, but the commission warned this should only be pursued after public transport services had been adequately improved.

In Westminster, the UK Parliament is also looking into road-user charging as a way of recouping billions of pounds’ worth of fuel duty that will likely disappear in the coming years when the country’s drivers transition to electric vehicles.