Investigation into council diesel use increase
Redcar and Cleveland CouncilA local authority's diesel use has increased over the last year despite commitments to become more environmentally friendly.
Redcar and Cleveland Council leaders said they were investigating the rise but highlighted how "overall carbon emissions from all council activities" continued to decrease.
The authority is aiming to become net carbon neutral by 2030, although the wider target for the borough as a whole was pushed to 2040 last year.
A spokesperson for the Labour-led council said the increase in emissions from the vehicle fleet came after a number of years of improved performance.
It currently has 36 electric vehicles on its fleet, while a small number of others run on hydrotreated vegetable oil.
The council is aiming for all of its vehicles weighing under 3.5 tonnes to be electric, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
"The council remains committed to reducing carbon emissions," the spokesperson added.
"Major progress has been made in reducing the authority's own emissions from around 22,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2014 to around 4,500 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2025/26."
The council said it was endeavouring to select electric vehicle options when replacement vehicles were needed, but it pointed out that "no external funding is available for vehicle replacement and the council will continue to work within its budget".