Press Release

Make six small changes to help repair the planet says Mayor
6-6-2007   333

The Mayor of London was joined by pop-star turned gardener Kim Wilde and Dr Steve Howard of The Climate Group today (Wednesday 6th June 2007), to launch DIY Planet Repairs, a public information campaign calling on Londoners to reduce their carbon emissions by making six simple changes to their lifestyles.

The DIY Planet Repairs Campaign kicked off with Kim Wilde starting London’s carbon counter. The counter calculates the amount of carbon pumped out every second of every day in the capital and the Mayor challenged Londoners to take action to reduce their C02 emissions and slow down the ticking carbon clock.

The campaign is calling on Londoners to ‘unplug, switch off and turn down’ and highlights these simple changes will make a big difference in reducing our carbon emissions. By doing this Londoners can help the planet and save themselves money at the same time. If every household makes all six changes we will save 1.58 million tonnes of CO2 as well as saving Londoners over £290 million per year to spend on things people really want rather than wasted on unnecessary energy. The campaign aims to simplify the sometimes confusing messages from a variety of media and organisations on what individuals can do to tackle climate change.

The DIY Planet Repairs campaign is the second major initiative to come out of the Climate Change Action Plan, launched in February, following the home insulation offer with British Gas, which started in March.

Mayor of London Ken Livingstone said: ‘Climate change is now a top issue of concern for Londoners. We are launching the DIY Planet Repairs campaign to provide clear and simple information to Londoners about what they can do to help address global warming.  Taking part in DIY Planet Repairs will cost you nothing and I am asking every London household to agree to make these six simple changes to cut their carbon emissions and play a part in preventing catastrophic climate change.’

Dr Steve Howard, CEO of The Climate Group welcomed the initiative and announced that the DIY Planet Repairs campaign was joining The Climate Group’s ‘We’re in this Together’ initiative.

Dr Steve Howard said: ‘London continues to lead the world in tackling climate change and this new campaign will help Londoners do their bit. It is therefore highly appropriate that London today becomes the first city to join our We're in this Together campaign. The commitment of 'DIY Planet Repairs' to making it easier for citizens to take action and reduce their own CO2 emissions fits perfectly with our mission and we are delighted to give it our full support.’

Speaking at the event, singer and professional gardener Kim Wilde said: ‘Every way you turn nowadays there seems to be an abundance of messages on how to best to tackle climate change. As a keen gardener, I am acutely aware of the potentially devastating effects of climate change on everyday life. Anything that brings clarity to the subject of what we can do to help has my support so I am delighted to be part of the launch today of the DIY Planet Repairs Campaign.’

The six changes the Mayor is asking Londoners to do are:

Wash Low
If every London household washed its clothes at 30 degrees, we could save 98,000 tonnes of CO2 and £23.5m per year.

Standby Switch Off
If every London household turned their appliances off standby, we could save 465,000 tonnes of CO2 and £115m per year.

Switch Off Your Lights
If every London household turned off their lights when leaving an empty room, we could save 93,000 tonnes of CO2 and £21.5m per year.

Unplug
If every London household unplugged their mobile phone chargers when not in use, we could save 31,000 tonnes of CO2 and £7.75m per year.

Turn down
If every Londoner has turned down their thermostat by one degree, we could save 837,000 tonnes of CO2 and £110m per year.

Only Boil What You Need
If every London household only boiled as much water as needed when making a cuppa, we could save 62,000 tonnes of CO2 and £15.5m per year

Ends

Notes to Editors

1. For images of the advertising please contact Nicola Dillon or Helen Collier in the Mayor’s press office.
2. Copies of the Climate Change Action Plan can be found at www.london.gov.uk
3. We’re in this Together is a partnership which aims to make it easier for the British public to take action on climate change. Under the banner of this new campaign, 8 well known businesses have launched initiatives designed to help their customers reduce their household emissions by one tonne. The partnership was launched by The Climate Group. For more information visit www.together.com
4. The Climate Group is an independent, non-profit organisation dedicated to accelerating the international uptake of corporate and government best practice in emissions reduction. We have offices and charitable status in the UK, USA and Australia and are expanding into India and China in 2007. Proactive companies, states, regions and cities around the world are demonstrating that the cuts in greenhouse gases required to stop climate change can be achieved while growing the bottom line. Using the work of these leaders as a catalyst, The Climate Group strives to accelerate international action on global warming with a new, strong focus on practical solutions. Since launching in 2004, we have developed an interlocking programme of sectoral leadership groups, research and publication, media engagement, and high-impact events. Our coalition has demonstrated that emissions reductions, while essential, can also be profitable. We inspire further action and outreach and mobilise business and sub-national governments to implement and support effective strategies and policies that mitigate climate change. We also promote the development and sharing of expertise on how business and government can lead the way towards a low carbon economy while boosting profitability and competitiveness. For more information visit www.theclimategroup.org

For further information please contact Nicola Dillon on 020 7983 4755 or Helen Collier on 020 7983 4066 in the Mayor’s Press Office (numbers not for publication)
For out of hours media enquiries please call 020 7983 4000.
For non-media enquiries please call the Public Liaison Unit on 020 7983 4100.

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