Govt call for Public to take up greener lifestyles

NEWS RELEASE

Nobel House, 17 Smith Square, London SW1P 3JR
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Date: 28 December 2006

Government announces measures to encourage individuals to tackle climate change and take up greener lifestyles

Measures to help individuals tackle climate change and adopt greener lifestyles were today unveiled by the Government.

The announcement includes the launch of a comprehensive on-line guide to greener living on Directgov. A carbon calculator to help people find out how much carbon they emit annually from their actions is also being developed.

The online guide to greener living is designed to help people who want to find out what they can do in their everyday lives to tackle climate change and other environmental issues.

The guide includes actions that can be taken covering the home, shopping, travel, food and drink, waste and recycling, energy and water saving, gardening, as well as being green in your workplace, school and community.

Environment Secretary David Miliband said the Stern Review had made it clear that there was an urgent need for everyone to tackle climate change. Individuals had an important role to play as 40 per cent of carbon emissions stem from their actions.

“Awareness of climate change is now higher than ever and there is a real acceptance among people of the need to take action. We all need to take action to change our lifestyles. We need to think about the way we use energy in our homes and in the way we travel.

“Providing a reliable, easy to understand online resource is one way to help people find out about what they can do to tackle climate change. There are lots of different things individuals can do to reduce the harm their lifestyles do to the environment. This online guide provides information to help people who want to take action to make informed choice – not lecture them about what they should do.”

The Government is also taking action to reduce its own emissions. Earlier this year, it announced a range of new sustainable operations targets, including a target to reduce carbon emissions from its office based estate by 30 per cent by 2020.

It announced today that EEA Fund Management Ltd has won the contract to fulfil the Government's obligation to offset its own air travel. All central Government official and ministerial air travel has been captured under carbon offsetting schemes since April 2006. Around 30 departments, agencies and bodies are participating in the largest of the schemes – the Government Carbon Offsetting Fund.

Over the next three years, EEA will source and deliver 255,000 Certified Emission Reduction credits – with a provision for a further 50,000 credits - from a portfolio of small-scale renewable energy and energy efficiency Kyoto-registered projects in countries such as Brazil, Thailand and the Philippines.

Note to editors
1 The online guide to greener living can be found at www.direct.gov.uk/greenerliving

Case studies are available from the Defra press office on request.

Mrs Fiddlesticks

I would really really like this to work, but there are so many people out there that do the equivalent of sticking fingers in ears and singing la la la when the 'green' subject is mentioned that I fear it's doomed.

LynneA

How about making Public Transport affordable?????

Sorry - I live in London Rolling Eyes

Welsh Girls Allotment

how about having public transport after 6pm - or is that a bit radical?

aussie

Indeed, Mrs Fiddlesticks, there is no shortage of La La Land material pumped out by those with a vested interest in promoting hysteria, and making a great deal of money in the process.
For every endorsment of the Stern Review , there seem to be a hundred to condemn it as nonsense, and, if not for the Internet and global electronic media, what is a very minor blip on the climatic raderscreen of time would go un.noticed.
Y2k all over again, and, as Barnham said, there's a sucker born every minute.

AnneandMike

[quote="aussie"]
For every endorsment of the Stern Review , there seem to be a hundred to condemn it as nonsense, and, if not for the Internet and global electronic media, what is a very minor blip on the climatic raderscreen of time would go un.noticed.
quote]

I would suggest you read some of the books written recently by climate scientists, mate! Or perhaps take a course on complex, non-linear dynamic systems. Failing that, carry on sleepwalking into the future.

Res

Mrs Fiddlesticks wrote:

Small pebbles mrs fiddlesticks, small pebbles. If it only changes a fraction of the population, isn't that better than the government doing nothing as they have until now?

I agree with you to a point but being negative is not going to change the minds of those people that are in two minds about wether they should/could do more!!?

sean

Crikey. Hello Res. Long time no post.

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