Gwynedd Council has made a pledge to introduce electric vehicles to its fleet as part of its commitment to tackling climate change.

The council has underlined its commitment to adding more green vehicles and to reducing its use of petrol and diesel vehicles in the coming years. Over the past decade, the council says it has reduced its carbon emissions by almost 40 per cent.

“As a council, we have committed towards becoming a carbon-neutral authority,” said Cllr Gareth Griffith, Gwynedd Council’s Cabinet member for the environment.

“Earlier this year, Gwynedd was one of the first councils in Wales to declare a climate change emergency.

“Our efforts to introduce electric vehicles to our fleet of vehicles will form an important aspect of the work to reduce the authority’s carbon emissions further.”

Cllr Catrin Wager, Gwynedd Council Cabinet member for highways and municipal matters said: “Technology is developing very quickly and we are seeing exciting opportunities to make better use of green technology on our roads.

“Our goal over the years ahead will be to make more use of carbon-free vehicles as opportunities arise as we update our small and heavy vehicles within the council’s fleet.

“Whenever possible, we will be aiming to phase-out petrol and diesel vehicles and make Gwynedd Council’s vans, cars and lorries carbon neutral in the years ahead.”

As Gwynedd Council looks to introduce green vehicles to its fleet, the authority is hoping that the county’s children will be able to help to highlight its use of the electric vehicles.

They would like to include an eye-catching image on the vehicles and a competition will be launched for schoolchildren to get involved with its design.