Council to introduce tax rebate for green homes

Print article
Post to Facebook

In an attempt to improve the city’s green credentials, Edinburgh City Council are to offer reductions in council tax to environmentally friendly households.

The council are set to negotiate with the Scottish Government to allow lower home and business rates for those who make an effort to lessen their environmental impact.

The plans, put forward by Council Labour leader Ewan Aitken, would see significant cuts in council tax for those who have put in developments that reduce their household’s carbon footprint or who have purchased a house in a carbon-zero development.

Mr Aitken said: “I was delighted this got universal support at committee. I think there are some issues, like the environment, which transcend politics. This is about giving people another incentive to do something about climate change, where they know their choices are reducing emissions but also bringing them a personal benefit.

"We now have local emissions targets so we need to the powers to achieve this.”

This proposal is in line with existing city targets to make Edinburgh a carbon-zero economy by 2050. The council has also agreed to carry out environmental impact assessments on all new building projects in the city.

Green Party councilor, Steve Burgess said: “Creating incentives for people to take action on climate change would be welcomed, and I think this would also help to show the impact that individuals' actions can make.”

Council leader Jenny Dawe, said: "Climate change is acknowledged by many as the single biggest threat to our planet.

"As a council we have set exacting targets to ensure that good environmental practice is at the core of all of our policies to preserve resources for future generations."

Comment on this article

	You need to have an account to post comments.
	Enter your login details below to post, or sign up for an account
User name:
Password:
Comment: