London the UK's 'most polluting city'

New research from Confused.com has revealed the average vehicle in the capital generates close to 177 grammes of CO2 for every kilometre driven. This is 25 per cent higher than in Peterborough, which is the country's greenest city with a rate of only 142g per km.

Portsmouth and Stirling were found to be the second and third most green locations, with rates of 146.69g and 147.38g per km respectively. Surprisingly two of the UK's biggest cities - Glasgow and Birmingham - both appeared in the top ten, being ranked fifth and sixth respectively.

After London, the most-polluting areas are St Albans, Brighton, Cambridge, Chelmsford and Lisburn. It is interesting that the capital is found to be least green region despite the introduction of the Low Emission Zone several years ago.

Reducing their emissions is certainly an objective for fleet operators in the city, particularly as plans for the introduction of a new Ultra Low Emission Zone have been mooted by mayor Boris Johnson.

Gemma Stanbury, head of motor at Confused.com, suggested it is possible that other cities will follow London's lead and introduce their own measures to cut down emissions.

The organisation's research has coincided with a study from WeLoveAnyCar.com, which found that Londoners drive some of the least-economical and most powerful vehicles in the country, while the most efficient drivers can be found in Shetland and Orkney.

Last week, the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association called on all of the stakeholders in the continent's transport industry to work together to bring down carbon emissions.

Research carried out by Transport & Mobility Leuven found that if an integrated approach that includes input from all members of the sector is pursued, an annual CO2 reduction of 3.5 per cent could be achieved between 2014 and 2020.