North Yorkshire County Council has secured nearly £2 million to decarbonise public buildings, including schools, libraries and care homes.

That is part of a bid the local authority had previously submitted for the government’s public sector decarbonisation funding.

The scheme will prioritise improvements to nearly 20 schools across the county, particularly the replacement of windows which is expected to improve energy efficiency and cut carbon dioxide emissions.

The funding will also finance a study to explore how green measures can improve energy efficiency at the council’s office buildings – these include electric vehicle charge points and generation of renewable energy on buildings.

County Council Leader Councillor Carl Les said: “Climate change is a real threat to our region and collectively we need to take action to mitigate and reduce the effects.

“Opportunities such as the public sector decarbonisation fund are very welcome to help us to improve our buildings and infrastructure. We want to send a clear message that we are committed to improving our own buildings and reducing carbon from our activities.”