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Coventry has been named the greenest city in the UK.

The city beat 20 others to be awarded the accolade by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) after managing to cut its carbon footprint by nearly 450,000 tonnes.

Figures released by the DECC showed that in 2013, the city lowered emissions by 443,000 tonnes compared to 2005 – the same amount a family car would emit if it made 10 round trips to the sun.

The statistics took into account the industrial, domestic and transport sectors and showed that carbon emissions in the city dropped by almost a third from 6.9 tonnes per person in 2005, to 4.9 tonnes per person, in 2013.

This compares to a UK average of 5.9 tonnes per person and 6.9 tonnes for Warwickshire, per person, during the same period.

Reasons given for the reduction included national initiatives but also local businesses working to improve their energy efficiency, and home owners installing efficient boilers and insulation.

The Heatline scheme, in which some city centre buildings are heated from the incinerator at Whitley, was also a factor.

Coun Kevin Maton, cabinet member for Business, Enterprise and Employment said he welcomed the news and would be working to keep the title as a low carbon city.

He said: “It’s great news that Coventry is continuing to lead the way in making carbon reductions and is increasingly being recognised as a low carbon city.

“The city council is continuing to do its bit to reduce carbon with schemes like the Heatline district energy network and the move to an efficient new building at Friargate.

“As importantly, low carbon is now big business - worth over £122 billion to the UK as a whole and employing 41,000 people in the West Midlands.

“The sector has shown steady growth and I’m keen for Coventry and Warwickshire to make the most of this opportunity.”