WARRINGTON Borough Council has announced that it has slashed its carbon emissions by more than half.

Since 2013, the council has been working to reduce its carbon footprint, and in the eight years from 2013 to 2021, the council dramatically cut back its emissions.

In 2014/15, the council's emissions stood at more than 12,100 tonnes of CO2 being emitted - in 2020/21, this had been slashed to 6,030 tonnes.

Across the eight years, the council has reduced its carbon output by an average of 760 tonnes per year.

In 2019, the council declared its ambition to become 'carbon neutral' by 2030, which is 20 years ahead of the Government's own target.

Cutting emissions drastically has been a result of different measures taken by the council, including the commissioning of three solar farms, moving towards an electric fleet of buses, and building energy-efficient housing in Great Sankey and Birchwood.

Cllr Janet Henshaw, cabinet member for sustainability and climate change said: "I’m proud of the excellent progress made towards achieving the council’s climate targets.

"Warrington is building solar farms, removing dirty diesel buses from our roads, replacing them with clean, electric public transport, and building low-carbon affordable housing."

Cllr David Ellis, chair of the Warrington Climate Emergency Commission said: "The Warrington Climate Emergency Commission has just launched its long term strategy and will be working with partners across the town to achieve its aims.

“Warrington Borough Council has an important role to play, both by reducing its own emissions and by demonstrating leadership."

Cllr Nathan Sudworth, Chair of the Organisation Improvement and Development Committee added: "There is still so much more to do, we need to continue to ramp up our efforts and deliver real change to protect our climate and our future."