The owners of cars with high CO2 emissions will be penalised

Edinburgh City Council has approved a new permit scheme which will charge drivers according to the fuel efficiency of their vehicles.

Drivers of the most efficient cars will pay little or nothing at all for their parking permits.

The idea was put forward by Green councillors and is modelled on similar schemes in London.

The councillors who backed the plan said they wanted to encourage drivers to choose cars with lower C02 emissions.

That means the owners of smaller, greener cars should benefit from cheaper parking permits.

But the owners of vehicles with higher greenhouse gas emissions, including most 4X4 vehicles, would have to pay more to park outside their homes.

Transport officials have been asked to draft new parking permit regulations before reporting back to councillors.