Birmingham placed among top greenhouse gas offenders

10.26.59am BST (GMT +0100) Tue 30th May 2006

Birmingham has been revealed as one of the nations worst offenders for the emission of carbon dioxide, the gas generally associated with global warming. In a report commissioned by British Gas, Birmingham residents were found to be amongst the top five producers of greenhouse gases in the UK.

The report named and shamed the cities producing the most carbon dioxide including Reading, Leicester and Birmingham, whilst lauding cities such as Hull and Derby as the smallest CO2 emitters.

Liz Lynne, the Lib Dem Euro-MP for Birmingham, today expressed her concerns about the extremely high greenhouse gas levels the City produces;

"The report suggests that houses in Birmingham are producing 6 tonnes (5,424kg) of carbon dioxide, which places us way in excess the national average. Glasgow for example only produces 5.08 tonnes (4,611kg). Environmentally this makes us one of Britain's least energy efficient areas and something we need to work hard on improving."

"There are numerous things that we can do to cut down on our energy consumption. Better loft insulation, switching off lights and not leaving electronic equipment on standby, would all dramatically cut down on our energy usage. We really need to act now to preserve our environment for future generations."

ENDS

Notes to Editors

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/berkshire/5003544.stm