Fewer greenhouse gas emissions were released into the atmosphere in Gwynedd in 2022, new figures show.

It comes as environmental activists warned "incremental change is not enough to protect people and planet for generations to come", calling on the Government to take "ambitious" action to combat climate change, and reach net zero.

Department for Energy Security and Net Zero figures show 375,929 kilotonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (kt CO2e) were emitted across the UK in 2022 - the equivalent of 5.6 tonnes CO2e (t CO2e) per capita – a fall from 5.9 the year before and 6.2 in 2019, before the pandemic.

In Gwynedd there were 916.9 kt CO2e emitted, or 7.8 tonnes per person – down from 8.1 tonnes in 2021.

Andrew Pendleton, deputy CEO of the environmental charity Global Action Plan, said: "Any decrease in greenhouse gas emissions is encouraging, but incremental change is not enough to protect people and planet for generations to come.

"We need the government to take ambitious action to tackle climate change and air pollution by ensuring everyone can travel and heat their homes in ways that are better for our health and the planet, including increasing funding for local authorities to continue to decarbonise our towns and cities."

The data was released before the recent general election, which saw Ed Miliband return to government as Energy Security and Net Zero Secretary. He ditched a ban on new onshore wind farms introduced by the Conservatives in 2015, which the Government hopes will boost economic growth and help transform the grid to clean energy by 2030. Alethea Warrington from climate charity Possible, described this as a "really positive step forward for our climate, our economy, and our energy bills", calling it "a sensible, practical move which reflects the UK public’s strong support for onshore wind, which goes across political parties and every constituency".

Nationally, transport was the biggest cause of emissions at 30 per cent, followed by domestic use (22 per cent), and industry, (17 per cent).

In Gwynedd agriculture accounted for the biggest source of emissions, with 48 per cent of all greenhouse gases.