09/07/07
People inspired to act on climate change by events like Live
Earth now have help available to identify the steps they can
take to make a difference, Environment Secretary Hilary Benn
said today.
Mr Benn launched a new advertising campaign encouraging people
to make small changes to reduce their impact on the planet. The
campaign focuses on simple changes such as switching to low energy
light bulbs, unplugging electronic chargers, considering what transport
to take and using less water, as well as directing people to information
on many more changes they can make.
The advertising is part of Defra’s Act on CO2 campaign to increase
awareness and understanding of the impact everyday actions have on our
CO2 emissions, and help people identify what they can do about it.
More than 40 per cent of the UK’s carbon dioxide emissions come
from people’s homes and travel.
Mr Benn said:
“We have a really big challenge: a small planet, a growing population,
and finite resources. We need to ensure that we only take out what we
can put back in.
“Events like Live Earth can help bring people together to encourage
them to take action locally, nationally and internationally – and
with more than 40 per cent of the UK’s carbon dioxide emissions
coming from people’s homes and travel, inspiring people to act
is increasingly urgent.
“I hope the Act on CO2 campaign will help all of us to understand
our impact on the climate and identify simple ways that we can make a
difference.”
Defra last month launched an online CO2 calculator to enable people
to work out their carbon footprint using government-recognised
data and calculations.
Recent research commissioned by Defra showed that 94 per cent of British
people think that the world’s climate is changing, and 66 per cent
say that they are personally taking action to limit climate change.
However, when asked what action they could take to limit climate change,
less than half (43 per cent) mentioned reducing electricity use, 14 percent
mentioned reducing energy for heating, and only 6 per cent mentioned
reducing water use.
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