Leeds: Councillors lobbied on climate change

Published Date: 10 December 2009
Environmental campaigners heading for the Copenhagen summit on climate change have already set themselves a task closer to home.
* Click here to watch the latest YEP weather report.Gavin McNaughton from Friends Of The Earth, part of a Yorkshire contingent taking part in the global
gathering of 192 countries , will also be at the forefront of a New Year campaign lobbying Leeds City Council to adopt the latest Government targets and aim to cut its carbon emissions by 40 per cent by 2020.* Click here to follow the YEP on Twitter.Councillors in Leeds recently joined business leaders and academics signing up to a Climate Change Partnership with the aim of cutting the city's emissions by 80 per cent by 2050.* Click here for latest YEP news and sport picture slideshows.But campaigners say the City Council needs to speed things up if it is committed to combating climate change.* Click here to watch latest YEP news and sport video reports.The Leeds: Get Serious About Co2 initiative is part of a national campaign backed by Friends Of The Earth and other organisations which will bring together a broad coalition of supporters early in 2010.* Click here to become a fan of the YEP on Facebook.Gavin, 38, who lives in Roundhay, said: "We will be urging the people of Leeds to ask their councillors to support the campaign.Benefits* Click here to add your name and location to our Leeds Ex-Pats Map."If we can achieve the cut in carbon emissions, it will have enormous economic and social as well as environmental benefits."Other cities and towns, including Harrogate and Bristol, have signed up to this already."Reducing carbon emissions has all kinds of benefits. These include reducing fuel poverty, protecting health and biodiversity, and creating jobs and financial security."Support for the campaign is growing across the country with councillors and civil servants and places like Leeds can lead the way."Before heading for Copenhagen, Gavin and fellow campaigners took part in The Wave, a massive climate change demonstration organised by the Stop Climate Chaos Coalition.More than 50,000 people took part in the protest, involving parents, students, church groups, political campaigners and even bodies like the Royal Society For The Protection of Birds.On Friday Gavin is set to travel to Copenhagen the eco-friendly way by train and bus.He said he is really looking forward to seeing over 100 world leaders, including US President Barack Obama, debate the future of the planet."The Copenhagen summit is all about citizens of the world getting together. This is a real emergency and there is a very fleeting opportunity for action which has to be bold, fair and fast if we are to stop climate chaos."However I am optimistic because these days, people are very informed and the internet makes information very accessible.I think there's also been an enormous social shift, with enormous opportunities for change in our consciousness and culture."More than 15,000 delegates, observers and other personnel are taking part in the summit, which is taking place at the giant Bella Centre in Copenhagen's southern suburbs.An earlier Friends Of The Earth campaign, The Big Ask, resulted in the UK Government passing the world's first law to cut CO2 emissions by 80 per cent by 2050.

Source:yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/