Haringey Council has become the first local authority in the UK to pledge to cut its carbon emissions by 40 percent over the next decade.

This reduction has been targeted as it is believed to be the minimum amount necessary to stop irreversible climate change.

Councillor Claire Kober, Haringey Council leader, explained that the borough wants to be the greenest area in London.

She said: "Before doing this I wanted to check exactly what this would mean and whether we could realistically meet that target. I now believe we can.

"We are dedicated to this aim and will develop our action plan and policies to accommodate the low carbon emissions targets."

Ms Kober met Friends of the Earth (FoE) director Andy Atkins last week to see new electric car charging points that have been introduced to borough car parks.

The authority made the pledge to reduce its environmental impact by two-thirds by 2020 as part of the FoE Get Serious About CO2 campaign.