MOST POLLUTING AREAS IN BRITAIN REVEALED - LIBERAL DEMOCRATS

2.00.27am UTC (GMT +0000) Sat 4th Nov 2006

The Liberal Democrats have published new research showing which areas of Britain emit the most carbon dioxide. The data has been released to coincide with the Stop Climate Chaos march and rally in Central London today.

The main findings are:

The UK is emitting almost four times the current global average emissions and in West Berkshire it is five times. The UK average is around 9.3 tonnes of carbon dioxide per person, compared to 12.5 tonnes per person in West Berkshire (one third as much again as the national average).

The highest area - the City of London - emits fifty five times more per head (245 tonnes) than the lowest - Hackney (4.4 tonnes) each year

The highest five areas (tonnes of CO2 per head) are:

1. City of London : 244.6 tonnes

2. North Lincolnshire : 90.3 tonnes

3. Redcar and Cleveland : 60.0 tonnes

4. Wansbeck: 56.0 tonnes

5. Ellesmere Port and Neston: 51.9 tonnes

The lowest five areas (tonnes of CO2 per head) are:

1. Hackney: 4.4 tonnes

2. Eastbourne: 4.5 tonnes

3. Gosport: 4.5 tonnes

4. Weymouth and Portland : 4.6 tonnes

5. Castle Point: 4.8 tonnes

Commenting, Liberal Democrat President Simon Hughes MP, who is representing the Liberal Democrats on the march said:

"All of us across the United Kingdom must now take action to reduce drastically Britain 's carbon emissions. Very simple measures can make the difference and the Government should reward these financially wherever possible.

"We need green taxes to encourage all of us who drive to move to more environmentally-friendly vehicles, and we need much more eco-friendly aviation.

"In a fairer and greener country income tax for average families and the least well off should come down and taxes on environmentally harmful activities should go up."