Sideways News

The 10:10 campaign has been created to tackle the impact of climate change

People across the UK are being urged to take part in a brand new scheme to do their bit to force a quick cut in carbon emissions.

Created by the Guardian newspaper and filmmaker Franny Armstrong - who was behind the Pete Postlethwaite eco-drama The Age Of Stupid - the new 10:10 campaign is calling on the public to reduce their carbon footprint by 10% by the end of next year.

The initiative has been inspired by the suggestion of many leading environmental scientists that emissions must begin to drop within six years if the world's temperature is to be prevented from rising to a critical level.

It appears that the scheme has had a major impact already, with a range of famous faces such as Alistair McGowan and Rory Bremner signing up for it alongside organisations including Tottenham Hotspur Football Club.

Discussing the plans with the Guardian, Ms Armstrong said the 10:10 campaign could influence world leaders meeting at the United Nations summit on climate change taking place in Denmark in December.

She explained: "Once we've got a critical mass of support we will go to the government and say the people of Britain are ready to cut by 10%, now we need you to move.

"If Ed Miliband could go to Copenhagen and say Britain is going to step forward and start cutting as quickly as the science demands, that could potentially break the deadlock in the international negotiations."

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