Edinburgh Council's budget must prioritise climate change and poverty – Melanie Main

This week Edinburgh Council will agree its budget for the coming year and Green councillors are proposing a budget to tackle the Climate Emergency and social justice.
The Greens' Edinburgh Council budget proposals include an extra £26 million for public transport, road safety and active travel (Picture: Ian Georgeson)The Greens' Edinburgh Council budget proposals include an extra £26 million for public transport, road safety and active travel (Picture: Ian Georgeson)
The Greens' Edinburgh Council budget proposals include an extra £26 million for public transport, road safety and active travel (Picture: Ian Georgeson)

As the country comes out of the Covid pandemic, it’s clear to me that the challenges our residents face in their daily lives are becoming stark.

That’s why Green councillors are pushing for the council to allocate over £1 million to help with cost-of-living hikes, ensuring help for those most in need to heat their homes and feed their families.

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At the same time, children’s services are also facing damaging cuts, so we have also found room in our Green budget proposals to allocate an additional £500,000 to make sure vital support continues to reach those youngsters in most need.

The second urgent issue is climate. Back in 2018, Greens won the first of several proposals that pushed the council to play a key role in tackling the Climate Emergency – a crisis that threatens everyone’s future quality of life and particularly our youngest citizens.

It has then taken several years to put in place a city-wide strategy and plans to deliver on net-zero climate-changing pollution by 2030. It’s a massive challenge and something the next council must show leadership on in all sectors across the Capital.

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That’s why this year’s Green budget proposes an additional investment of £26 million in public transport, road safety and active travel, delivering an infrastructure that will support sustainable travel in Edinburgh in years to come.

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Greens also want to invest a further £4.3 million to convert the heavy fleet of council vehicles, such as bins lorries, to electric. This could not only cut pollution but deliver savings on maintenance and fuel, and set sustainable standards for other public services across the city.

There’s also an additional £290,000 for public electric vehicle charging, that would support the many residents who we know are eager to switch their cars to electric.

In my time as a councillor, I’ve learned that our citizens and their communities have a vital role to play in fight against the rapidly changing climate, that’s why I’m particularly proud of the proposed £500,000 investment to support net-zero communities across the city and backing for waste re-use hubs, allowing our residents to recycle more and waste less.

Improving our environment will support people to make sustainable choices. And sometimes it’s small investments by the council that can make all the difference – like spending £20,000 on essential repairs to Rainbow Bridge in Leith to improve a much loved off-road route for safe walking and cycling.

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But there are still areas in the fight to reach net zero where we don’t yet have all the answers. Alternatives to heating the city’s buildings with dirty gas is a particularly huge challenge.

That’s why it’s vital that the council invests in a strong staff team to make sure we have professional expertise dedicated to tackling the climate crisis and finding solutions that will bring us closer to net zero as we hurtle towards 2030.

Even in these extremely challenging times, it is entirely possible to finance a better green future for all our residents and that’s what this year’s Green budget delivers. We’ll see on Thursday whether the council’s ruling coalition matches up to this.

Melanie Main is a Scottish Green councillor for Morningside

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