On Tuesday 5 June, St Edmundsbury representatives will sign the Nottingham Declaration on Climate Change and join leaders worldwide in pledging to take local action to tackle a global problem. Residents will be invited to join the pledge by taking steps to reduce their carbon dioxide (CO2 ) emissions by 60 percent.
The event is being held to mark World Environment Day. Free low-energy light bulbs are being given away from council offices in Haverhill and at Angel Hill and Western Way in Bury St Edmunds. In exchange, people will be asked to sign a personal CO2 reduction pledge, and will be entered in a free prize draw for the chance to win a wind-up, solar powered radio and a copy of Al Gore’s DVD, An Inconvenient Truth. Giant balloons will illustrate the CO2 equivalents of everyday activities.
Council representatives will also sign a memorandum of understanding on the CRed Suffolk partnership. CRed stands for Carbon Reduction and this county wide partnership provides information and advice to help identify easy, everyday energy savings, as well as how to adapt to a changing climate through a helpline and website and other ways.
St Edmundsbury Borough Council Leader, Cllr John Griffiths, said:
We are committed to making energy efficiency integral to our future and will be working widely with our partners and within our communities to reduce emissions. By way of example, the new Public Service Village is designed to the highest environmental standards; and the new venue in the Cattle Market development will be heated and cooled using renewable energy. I urge everyone to take a fresh look at how they can contribute to these reductions."
Contact CRed Suffolk helpline 0800 0288938 www.cred-uk.org
ENDS
Issued by Sally Easton, Communications Unit, St Edmundsbury Borough. Tel: 01284 757046 sally.easton@stedsbc.gov.uk
Notes to editors:
CRed - Established at the University of East Anglia in 2004 the Carbon Reduction (CRed) Programme is identifying the pathways society can follow to meet the 60percent Challenge - a 60% reduction in CO2 emissions by the middle of this century. The CRed Suffolk Partnership was set up in Suffolk in December 2005, involving a partnership of local authorities, businesses, schools, other organisations, communities and households, each of which has made a commitment to reducing its CO2. Contact CRed Suffolk helpline 0800 0288938 www.cred-uk.org
A one metre diameter balloon holds the equivalent of 1 kilo of carbon dioxide. Each one of us is responsible for 9000 kilos of the gas every year through the way we live. Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas linked to climate change. Accepting the 60 percent Challenge means saving 5,400 kilos.
- Switching from a conventional light bulb to a low energy light bulb will save around 29 kilos of carbon dioxide each year.
- A TV left on standby will be responsible for 30 kilos of CO2 a year
- Every time you use a dishwasher you use enough electricity to release nearly one kilo of CO2
- Every time you use a tumble dryer you use enough electricity to emit 1.5 kg of CO2
