CARBON dioxide emissions in the Maldon district have fallen by more than a third since 2005.

Official figures show emissions dropped 38.1 per cent from a total of 424 ktCO2e in 2005 – when data is first available – to 262 ktCO2e in 2021.

This was the equivalent of 3.9 tonnes of CO2 emitted per person in 2021.

Local authority emissions across the UK have dropped 39 per cent since 2005, including a significant fall in 2020 at the height of the coronavirus pandemic.

However, they saw an eight per cent increase between 2020 and 2021 as the UK came out of lockdown and economic activity resumed.

In the Maldon distruct, this meant a rise of 6.4 per cent from 246 ktCO2e in 2020.

Friends of the Earth has called for a council-led, street-by-street insulation programme to help drive emissions down.

A new report from the Committee for Climate Change – an independent advisory body – said Government action on emissions is "worrying slow".

But a government spokesman said: “The UK is cutting emissions faster than any other G7 country and attracted billions of investment into renewables, which now account for 40 per cent of our electricity.

“In the last year alone, we have confirmed the first state backing of a nuclear project in over 30 years and invested billions to kick-start new industries like carbon capture and floating offshore wind.”