English councils set to miss carbon emission targets

Despite their climate pledges, many local authorities do not even know how much carbon they produce

Many councils in England don't know how much energy they use, a new survey reveals. The findings make it "inconceivable" that they will become carbon neutral within 30 years, as the government has mandated.

According to the survey, 43% of councils - 93 of the 214 local authorities that responded to a freedom of information request from electrical contractors' trade body ECA - do not measure the energy they use in council-owned buildings or know how much carbon they produce.