Electric cars: Edinburgh risks being left behind by the lack of charging points in the city – Daniel Johnson MSP

We all know Glasgow is to be the UK host this year for the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties – known as Cop26.

Edinburgh needs to get more charging points for electric cars (Picture: John Devlin)

But we shouldn't let them have all the limelight.

Even the Queen is getting in on the act. While here for Holyrood week, she attended an event at the University of Edinburgh in an electric hybrid vehicle.

Edinburgh still as some distance to go, but this is the perfect opportunity for the city to get its house in order and make it easier for us to charge and use electric vehicles.

We’re buying more and more of them each year and they'll soon become the norm on our streets, yet our city is woefully ill-prepared for them and an adequate charging infrastructure is just not there yet.

It is an emerging problem and one that I have heard from both constituents and businesses.

Just last year, I held a meeting with a company who handles community charging, allowing local people to manage and determine their own charging plan.

This is exactly the sort of thing the council should be encouraging.

We need to move away from internal combustion engines. For some people that will mean walking and cycling, for others that will mean electric vehicles, but we need the infrastructure.

Edinburgh can’t afford to be left behind. We need to make this transition from fossil fuels to electric as smooth as possible.

Let’s not have all the attention at that end of the M8 this year. Let’s get Edinburgh on board with electric vehicles.

Daniel Johnson is Scottish Labour MSP for Edinburgh Southern

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