Northumberland County Council has made rapid progress on its climate action goals, new statistics have revealed.

The council improved its climate action results by 12% between 2023 and 2025, growing faster than any other local authority in the North East.

But, with a score of 38% for its 2025 scorecard, it is only the third-highest scoring council in the region for climate action, behind Durham and Newcastle Councils, tied on 43%.

The results of all local authorities in England were published by Climate Emergency UK, which released their second edition of the Council Climate Action Scorecards - the only comprehensive analysis of all UK councils’ climate action.

There was a positive turnout when new climate action grants were announced earlier this year.

placeholder image — There was a positive turnout when new climate action grants were announced earlier this year.

They show Northumberland, Durham and Newcastle leading the way in terms of climate action within the region, ahead of Gateshead (33%) and Sunderland (31%).

The average score across England was 38%.

This is the second time that Climate Emergency UK has undertaken the assessment of what councils can do for climate action, what they can do to lower carbon emissions, cut residents' energy bills, protect and create more space for nature and provide better public transport.

The Scorecards are created by assessing councils according to a three-stage marking process using publicly available data from council websites, as well as national data and Freedom of Information responses from councils from autumn 2024.

Whilst average scores remain low (38%), 80% of all UK councils saw an increase in their Scorecard results since 2023.

Northumberland’s 12% rise was one of the highest in the country.

The council has launched a range of initiatives in recent years, aiming to decarbonise or reduce emissions, such as the Northumberland Environment and Climate Fund, which supports projects addressing climate change and protecting the environment.

Annie Pickering, operations director at Climate Emergency UK, said: “The majority of councils in the North East have improved their Scorecard results since 2023, showing that councils, along with residents, want to prioritise climate action to improve their lives and communities.

"Yet the average overall score increase since 2023 was just six percentage points, and in the North East it was only five. This shows that councils across the UK are struggling to step up their climate action at the emergency pace needed.”

Northumberland County Council scored an impressive 72% in Collaboration and Engagement and 59% in Buildings and Heating.