London boasts lowest carbon emissions

London councils lead tables on lowest CO2 emissions in the UK, according to a report published by the Energy Saving Trust.

The City of London ranked highest among the 434 entries, while the council of Down in Northern Ireland finished bottom of the table.

The report took an average figure of household and vehicle CO2 emissions per year, giving a total emissions index figure. The City of Glasgow, Manchester and Nottingham ranked among the first 20 entries, with an index number ranging between 69 and 76, while the UK average is set at 100.

In comparison, the City of London’s index stood at 51, due to its low total of households and vehicles. The City of London registered a total of 24,313 tonnes of emissions, compared to 1,759,577 tonnes in Glasgow.

However, Philip Sellwood, chief executive of the Trust, said that the report had limitations: “The average domestic carbon emissions vary massively from local authority to local authority, although it is not easy to compare apples with apples. An urban local authority generally will have domestic emissions that are lower than a rural local authority.”