Catherine Burbage - 17-May-2007
- Three out of four people in the East of
England say they are doing something to
tackle climate change, an exclusive poll
by the Environment Agency can reveal.
The Environment Agency Ipsos Mori Poll
has revealed that 76% of people in the East
of England say they’ve altered their behaviour
in an effort to reduce their carbon footprint.
Now the Environment Agency wants to encourage
everyone to go online and help compile one
of the nation’s biggest ever surveys on
climate change before World Environment
Day on 5 June.
Paul Woodcock, Environment Agency Regional
Director said, "People in the East
of England are doing a great job already
and we want to celebrate that, as well as
encouraging them to do even more. To mark
this year's World Environment Day on 5 June,
we're asking people to go online to take
part in our survey which will show people
how their contribution is already helping
and suggest ways they could do even more.
'It's great news that the East of England
is so interested in tackling climate change,
especially as we will feel the effects of
it in this Region, as sea levels rise and
the weather becomes more stormy. But we
must be relentless in our efforts to reduce
carbon emissions as there is still much
more we can do."
Paul Woodcock is challenging those people
that cited recycling (34% or one in three)
as their main contribution towards tackling
climate change – to further raise the stakes.
"Of the 76 per cent of people who
said they were already tackling climate
change, almost half (34%) pointed to recycling
as their main contribution. That’s a signal
that people want to care for the planet,
but getting more people to do more things,
such as increasing the 18% of people who
use low energy light bulbs, will help even
more."
The main reason that people view recycling
as their top green credential is because
it’s been made so easy to do with very little
extra effort.
Paul continued, "But there is a range
of equally simple measures that people can
take, which have a real impact on their
carbon emissions – such as ensuring appliances
are not left on standby, riding a bike instead
of driving and drying your washing outdoors.
"For the people who have yet to do
something to help tackle climate change,
hopefully they will see how easy it is to
reduce their carbon emissions with very
little extra effort. And contributing to
this online survey can be the first step
in discovering simple ways of tackling climate
change."
Contribute to the Environment Agency’s
national survey at www.mendoftheworld.org
