Councils must do their bit for the environment and help cut carbon emissions by one-third by 2020, according to a new report from the LGA.

The publication, from the LGA's climate change commission, said councils could help cut carbon emissions by 150 million tonnes of CO₂ a year.

Commission chairman, Professor John Chesshire, said councils could achieve this through a mixture of smarter procurement and working with local groups.

But Friends of the Earth climate campaigner, Martyn Williams, said: ‘The Government is making things difficult for local authorities by forcing through climate damaging policies such as motorway widening and airport expansion.'