Widespread low scores in the first study of UK councils' climate action highlight national barriers, pressure group Climate Emergency UK has said.

Climate Emergency UK co-director Annie Pickering said a lack of funding and Government policy U-turns helped explain why local authorities were not doing enough on net zero.

Councils scored an average of just 32% in Climate Emergency UK's action scorecards, with only 41 local authorities scoring 50% or higher.

Northern Irish councils performed worst, with an average score of just 21%.

Ms Pickering said local factors, such as political will and community support, were also at play.

Local Government Association environment spokesperson Darren Rodwell said: ‘We don't support league tables as they often paint a two-dimensional picture of the context that councils are working within and unfairly compare councils with different challenges.

‘Government needs to empower local climate action that can hit targets, mobilise support and deliver on the evidence showing local approaches can save hundreds of billions.'