The heritage body has launched a manifesto issuing a call for the historic environment to be ‘at the heart of the city’s response to the climate emergency’.
Their 10 point manifesto is aimed at those who make policy as well as other experts and residents. It is hoped that the way that our traditional buildings is used can be improved to reduce energy consumption and adapt better to changing weather patterns.
The City of Edinburgh Council has already pledged that the city will become carbon neutral by 2030. The manifesto addresses the challenges of meeting this goal while still preserving the heritage of our World Heritage sites in the Old Town and the New Town. This will include retro fitting better energy efficient solutions instead of just tearing them down and building new, along with a focus on repairing the buildings more regularly to ensure they are wind and watertight.
EWH also propose that local communities become more involved in developing local solutions. The organisation says that data from the Met Office shows that Edinburgh is affected by climate change and points out that this will affect our buildings and damage them.
Christina Sinclair of EWH said: “The traditional buildings in Edinburgh are inherently sustainable given they were constructed using mainly natural local materials and are well adapted to local weather conditions. With regular maintenance, appropriate conservation, and the introduction of sensitive energy efficient measures which are proven to work in the local environment, Edinburgh’s wonderful historic environment can be at the heart of the city’s plans to address the challenge of climate change. Historic building are not a barrier to sustainability they are a critical part of the solution.”
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Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
