The team at DriveElectric has looked at green areas, electric vehicles, energy consumption, CO2 emissions and other factors to establish which are the UK’s greenest areas, and which are the least green areas as well.
You can access the full research here: https://www.drive-electric.co.uk/press/the-greenest-residents/
Top 10 UK areas with the highest CO2 emissions:
| Rank | Local Authority | Per Capita Emissions (tCO2e) |
| 1 | Neath Port Talbot | 47.9 |
| 2 | North Lincolnshire | 41.4 |
| 3 | Na h-Eileanan Siar | 35.0 |
| 4 | High Peak | 31.0 |
| 5 | Shetland Islands | 27.8 |
| 6 | Eden | 27.0 |
| 7 | Rutland | 24.4 |
| 8 | Fermanagh and Omagh | 21.5 |
| 9 | Orkney Islands | 20.7 |
| 10 | East Cambridgeshire | 17.5 |
| 11 | Mid Ulster | 17.5 |
The Welsh county borough of Neath Port Talbot is the UK area with the highest CO2 emission – 47.9 tonnes per capita. The Port Talbot Steelworks is the country’s largest steel production plant, which contributes to the area’s high CO2 emissions.
Next up is North Lincolnshire, with 41.4 tonnes of CO2 emissions per capita. In December, it was announced that planning permission had been granted for the UK’s first carbon capture and storage power station, near Scunthorpe, in North Lincolnshire. The proposed plant has the capacity to capture up to 1.5 million tonnes of CO2 per year.
In third place are the Outer Hebrides (also known as Na h-Eileanan Siar), with 35 tonnes of CO2 emissions per capita.
Top 10 UK areas with the lowest CO2 emissions:
| Rank | Local Authority | Per Capita Emissions (tCO2e) |
| 1 | Hackney | 2.1 |
| 2 | Haringey | 2.4 |
| 3 | Islington | 2.5 |
| 3 | Gosport | 2.5 |
| 3 | Harrow | 2.5 |
| 3 | Redbridge | 2.5 |
| 7 | Waltham Forest | 2.6 |
| 7 | Hastings | 2.6 |
| 7 | Wandsworth | 2.6 |
| 10 | Lambeth | 2.7 |
| 10 | Worthing | 2.7 |
| 10 | Greenwich | 2.7 |
| 10 | Eastbourne | 2.7 |
| 10 | Brighton and Hove | 2.7 |
| 10 | Newham | 2.7 |
| 10 | Lewisham | 2.7 |
| 10 | Southwark | 2.7 |
Topping the list is the London borough of Hackney, with just 2.1 tonnes of CO2 emissions per capita. Hackney Council has committed to delivering net zero emissions by 2040, which is 10 years earlier than the target set by the government.
Next is the London borough of Haringey, with 2.4 tonnes of CO2 emissions per capita. Haringey Council is working to become a net zero-carbon council by the year 2027.
Not far behind, in third place, is the London borough of Islington, with 2.5 tonnes of CO2 emissions per capita. Islington Council previously had a target of reducing the area’s carbon emissions by 40% between the years 2005 and 2020. By 2019, they had already exceeded this target and achieved a 45% reduction.
Further findings:
- Westminster is the UK area with the most electric vehicles, and saw a 132.8% increase in licensed EVs in 2022 per 100,000 people.
- The title of the greenest resident goes to Richmond Upon Thames’ residents.
- Tower Hamlets is the UK area with the most green spaces – 12.71 public green spaces within a 1,000m radius.