The Carbon Trust is set to assist some 74 councils to reduce their carbon emissions.Local authorities across England and Scotland are to be helped in cutting energy costs by £50 million and reducing carbon footprints by 518,000 tonnes of CO2, the Green building Press has reported.Through the Carbon Trust's Local Authority Carbon Management Programme (LACM) the trust works with over 200 councils to assess risks of global warming and produce a tailored carbon footprint reduction strategy.Public sector manager at the Carbon Trust Tom Cumberlege commented that the UK's local authorities emit a collective seven million tonnes of CO2 every year and spend some £1.4 billion on energy."When it comes to taking action on climate change, local authorities are in a unique position to be clear leaders and work together with local businesses and residents," he said.The aim of the Carbon Trust is to bring about a low carbon economy in the UK through working with companies to reduce their CO2 emissions and to develop low carbon technologies.