"Government to get tough on people over-filling their kettles ..."
------- Forwarded message follows -------
Date sent: Wed, 07 Jun 2000 14:01:23 +0100
From: "Toby Cooley" <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: DETR: Global warming
UK ENVIRONMENT WEEK - "DOING YOUR BIT" TO CUT THE
THREAT OF GLOBAL WARMING AS WORLD GOVERNMENTS
MEET IN BONN
For UK Environment Week Government Minister Michael Meacher
and Tomorrow's World's Philippa Forrester called on everyone to
"do their bit" for the environment by helping to cut global warming.
As top Government officials from across the world meet in Bonn to
take forward the historic Kyoto agreement to cut global emissions
UK companies will also be meeting at Birmingham's NEC for the
UK Environment Week conference - ET 2000 - to discuss how they
can do more to help the environment.
Global warming is an international problem, but the first effects of
its impact are already being felt in the UK. Government scientists
have confirmed that climate change, caused by the increased
concentration of greenhouse gases, have warmed the earth to the
highest levels seen in at least the past thousand years. Sea levels
are also rising as the sea warms and expands, and land ice melts.
The consequences for the UK environment are:
· some areas of natural beauty and wildlife reserves along the coast
will be at increased risk of flooding;
· storm surges may be worse in the future and the Government has
already highlighted the substantial cost of improving coastal
defences in the UK;
· increased risks of storm damage and subsidence;
· increased risk of drought, particularly in the South East; and
· some marine species, such as cod, may even be affected as
areas of sea water, such as the North Sea, warm up.
While internationally we could see:
· the Amazonian rainforest being lost in the next 50 years;
· many Pacific islands lost to rising seawater;
· greater environmental damage and dislocation of people; and
· more flooding in coastal areas.
Global warming is now a reality but everyone can "do their bit" to
help reduce the scale of its future impacts. Everyday actions at
home or at work or looking at how we travel can have a beneficial
effect on the environment. The following simple actions can help in
the fight against climate change:
· only fill the kettle with the water you need when making a cuppa,
and in a week you'd save enough energy to light your house for a
day. What's more, in a week we could save enough energy to light
every street light in the UK;
· turn off any unnecessary lights and you could spend a few
pennies more on a newspaper;
· using an energy-saving light bulb could save you £10 a year and if
every household installed one, we could, according to the Energy
Saving Trust, power the lights currently used in 3 million homes
for a year; and
· while by simply taking one less car journey a week, we could all
save money and reduce pollution which can aggravate asthma in
children.
Environment Minister Michael Meacher said: "This week is UK
Environment Week and the predicted dangers to our landscape and
our wildlife in the UK are indicative of the consequences that we all
face if we continue to be careless with the environment.
"Climate change has contributed to four out of the five warmest
years ever recorded in the last decade, while 1999 was the equal
warmest UK year on record. This might be giving us drier
summers but, at the same time, it is going to rob us of some of our
most cherished assets, such as parts of our coastline or wildlife
including some butterflies and birds.
"Climate change is something we can all do something about,
particularly during UK Environment Week. We all need to 'do our
bit' for the environment and, if we do, we can make a real impact in
tackling global warming."
Philippa Forrester backs the call: "It's incredible to think that the
small actions we do every day at home and at work are actually
contributing to global warming. And it's frightening to think that
this, in turn, could destroy parts of the British landscape and affect
many species here.
"But we can help stop this happening if we all 'do our bit' to fight
global warming. What could be easier than turning off lights as you
leave your room - it's just common sense.
"So during Environment Week, 'do your bit'. It's simple really: the
less energy we use, the less global warming there is, and so the
more of our landscapes and species are protected."
NOTES FOR EDITORS:
1. The potential impacts of climate change in the UK are described
in the Climate Change Draft UK Programme published in March
and in "Climate Change: Assessing the impacts - identifying
responses" published by DETR in May.
International governments meet in Bonn over the next two weeks to
continue discussions on how to implement the Kyoto agreement.
Meetings will consider the rules for emissions trading, the use of
forests as a sink for carbon dioxide and support for developing
countries to combat climate change. The final agreements on
these and other issues are expected for a major meeting in the
Hague in November.
2. The 'are you doing your bit?' publicity campaign - a £25million
initiative over 3 years - aims to inform people about the link
between their individual action and global warming as well as
stimulating wider action to protect the environment.
3. Media inquiries to the 'are you doing your bit?' campaign office
on 020 7544 3131. For more information on how you can do your
bit, people are encouraged to call the are you doing your bit?
campaign on 0345 868686 or visit our website at
http://www.doingyourbit.org.uk
Public Enquiries: 020 7944 3000;
DETR website - http://www.detr.gov.uk
====================== From ====================
David Somervell, Energy and Environmental Manager
Edinburgh University Estates and Buildings Works Division
11 Infirmary Street, Edinburgh EH1 1NP, Scotland UK
0131 650 2073 Fax 650 9346 Email [log in to unmask]
Environmental Agenda @ http://www.cecs.ed.ac.uk/greeninfo/
Estates and Buildings @ http://www.estates.ed.ac.uk/
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