Southampton City Council has biggest carbon footprint in the south

The city council’s CO2 emissions – 30,600 tonnes in a single year – dwarf those of the rest of the region.

In second place is the Isle of Wight, whose authority is responsible for producing 22,800 tonnes, followed some way behind by the New Forest, with 8,300 tonnes.

The emissions data, collected from local authorities for the 2008/9 financial year, calculate the CO2 produced by powering and heating buildings such as libraries, schools and leisure centres, as well as the emissions from business travel, fleet vehicles and refuse trucks.

The lowest CO2 emitters are unsurprisingly the smallest councils, with Gosport’s 2,300 tonnes winning it the title of the greenest authority in the region.

Across south Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, a total of 85,300 tonnes were emitted over the year.

Energy Secretary Chris Huhne, pictured, Liberal Democrat MP for Eastleigh, whose department for energy and climate change published the figures, said councils should use the data to make improvements, lower emissions and save taxpayers money.

He said: “By calculating their own emissions and the estimated costs of energy use, local councils will be able to identify how to save emissions and save money.

“Wasting energy means that money that could be spent on local services is also being wasted. These new statistics should put energy wastage and energy efficiency at the forefront of the minds of councillors and council officials.”

Mr Huhne’s local council, Eastleigh, generated 3,700 tonnes of CO2, placing the borough at the lower end of the polluter league table.

Highlighting local schemes to bring down CO2 emissions, in a speech to the Local Government Association’s annual conference, the minister said: “My own local authority, Eastleigh Borough Council, has pledged to reduce its carbon emissions by the 2012 London Olympics by introducing a programme covering all areas of the council and its buildings.

“Their first priority is additional insulation in older homes, tackling fuel poverty as well as carbon emissions. Over 150 homes have now had loft insulation or cavity wall insulation or both.”

The UK has a national target of reducing CO2 emissions by 80 per cent by 2050.

Chris Huhne has also announced that he will be overturning an existing ban on councils selling electricity they produce from renewables to the National Grid.

In a recent speech to the Local Government Association, the Energy and Climate Change Secretary pledged support to rewrite the 1976 Local Government Act which would allow this to happen.

“I hope local authorities will be able to sell electricity from renewables, generating revenue to help local services and keep Council Tax down,” he said.

“Local communities can truly benefit from the low carbon transition.”

He added that he hoped it would be possible to repeal the act by the end of the year.

Businesses, schools and individuals can already get cash payments through the feed-in tariff, which came into effect on April 1 this year, for producing their own green electricity, for instance using solar panels or small wind turbines, and selling it to the National Grid.

Figures published by the Department for Energy and Climate Change show that in 2008/09, local authorities in England produced more than 600,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity through solar and wind power, and over 33 million kilowatt-hours from wood-burning biomass generators.

Chris Holloway, executive director of Winchester Action on Climate Change, said “This is really good news. It should encourage local authorities to invest in renewable energy.

Local authorities need to show leadership in tackling climate change. This a great way to do it. If they borrow the money to set up a local renewable energy scheme, they’d guarantee a good return on their investment, saving the Council money as well as cutting the carbon footprint of their area, and showing local people that we are all taking action together.”