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Making our homes warmer
Thirty-two percent of Edinburgh residents cannot
afford to heat their homes to reasonable standards.
This translates to 64,000 households suffering from
fuel poverty.
These are worrying figures, as living in a cold, damp
house can adversely affect suffers of asthma, bronchitis and heart
disease and contribute to the 400 excess winter deaths occurring in
Edinburgh every year.
To combat these statistics The City of Edinburgh
Council launched its Affordable Warmth Strategy (AWS) in September. AWS
aims to eliminate fuel poverty throughout the city through inter-agency
co-operation.
While essentially a project for social improvement,
the Council is keen to highlight the environmental implications of AWS.
Richard Holloway, Chair of the Lord Provost's Commission on Social
Exclusion said, 'We know that affordable warmth leads to less
pollution.' AWS compliments The Warmburgh Plan, which aims to reduce
domestic energy use in Edinburgh by 30% over the next ten years. This
should reduce production of greenhouse gases by 420,000 tonnes a year.
Information on energy saving methods and grants for
heating improvements is available by calling freephone 0800 072 0150 or
by writing to EAGA Partnership, Freepost, SCO 4421, Edinburgh, EH6 OBR
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