Blair, Church Unite to Cut Britain's Carbon Emissions

Prime Minister Tony Blair joined the Church of England this week to launch a campaign urging consumers to make drastic cutbacks on their carbon emissions.

|PIC1|Eight major companies helped form a powerful new coalition led by Blair, the Church of England and environmental groups to call on households in Britain to cut their carbon emissions by more than one tonne in the next three years.

The 'We're in this Together' campaign has a target to cut back on a total of 25 million tonnes of carbon emissions, which equates to more than the current combined household emissions across Scotland and Wales.

Each year every household produces on average approximately 6 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year, which is a quarter of Britain's total carbon emissions every 12 months.

Companies such as Tesco, Marks and Spencer and Sky among others have introduced new products to help people reduce their emission levels.

Marks and Spencer has introduced 'Think Climate Change' labels on 70 per cent of its clothing urging consumers to wash the clothes at 30C rather than 40C. Sky's set-top boxes will now automatically turn themselves off at night.

Blair called the initiatives "inspiring and groundbreaking", as he urged people in Britain to show the world that cutting carbon emissions does not have to mean a downturn in economy.

"Even if you thought it [climate change] was merely probable, the consequences are so devastating that it would be rather foolish not to act on it," Blair said.

Dr Ashok Sinha of Stop Climate Chaos said, "'We're in this Together' is a highly welcome initiative. Through it consumers will be able to use their purchasing power to embolden decision-makers, ensuring the UK achieves our fair share of an international effort to keep global warming under the danger threshold of 2oC."

Dr Richard Chartres, Bishop of London, said: "The Church of England is officially committed to 'cutting the carbon'. Since the launch of the Church's Shrinking the Footprint campaign more and more congregations are seeing the connection between caring for God's creation and embracing a greener way of life.

"We are glad to be partners in this common effort because it is true that 'We're in this together'. We are working to engage both with our own members and those of other faiths. One fresh contribution is the publication today of a practical guide for individuals entitled 'How many light bulbs does it take to change a Christian?' "

The potential power of the coalition is immense with supporters from a wide range of retailers, banks, media and service providers from across the UK (B&Q, Barclaycard, British Gas, Marks & Spencer, O2, Royal & SunAlliance, BSkyB & Tesco) have all united behind this initiative, with more brands set to join throughout 2007 including HSBC and National Express. The coalition also reaches outside business with active support coming from the Energy Saving Trust, Defra, the National Consumer Council and the Church of England.

The carbon reductions will be measured by the Energy Saving Trust on the website www.together.com