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Major political parties pledge to cut carbon emissions through 10:10 sign up

All three major political parties pledge to cut their carbon emissions as they sign up to the 10:10 campaign. Can they prove it’s more than personal PR and align their policies with their promises?

Within hours of the 10:10 campaign launch, the entire frontbench of all three major political parties and Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, had signed on the dotted line, pledging to cut their personal carbon emissions by 10% by the end of 2010.

10:10 co-founder, Franny Armstrong, said in the Guardian: "These politicians clearly recognise that each person in Britain must start cutting their emissions as part of a national war-effort scale response to the climate crisis. But ministers have a responsibility far beyond their individual emissions – they must now introduce the policies to ensure Britain cuts its overall emissions by a similar amount."

Climate Change secretary, Ed Miliband, echoed Armstrong’s challenge, encouraging his colleagues to join the campaign and put their pledge into political practice.

"There was a real sense that this is the right thing to do, and that this has very powerful symbolism, but you've got to put your policy money where your mouth is,” he told the Guardian. “David Cameron has a wind turbine on his roof but all round the country Tory councils are turning down wind farms."

Beyond the crack at Cameron’s beleaguered wind turbine, Milliband captures the debate. Is 10:10 a political publicity stunt or a catalyst to policy change?

Politicians across all parties are pledging to cut personal emissions, with many promising to implicate change in local councils and urging their constituency members to get on board.

Michael Foster, Labour MP for Hastings and Rye, describes in the Hastings Observer his efforts to cut his personal carbon emissions - switching to an LPG fueled car and a new green tariff for his household energy. He also urges readers to recognise the campaign to be about corporate action.

Labour, who promise their policies will pave the way to a "cleaner, greener and less polluting Great Britain" are pledging, over the next three years, to phase out energy inefficient light-bulbs, reduce the use of plastic bags and help over five million households install insulation.

The Conservatives pledge to transform energy networks, increase the use of renewables and invest in energy saving household improvements.

The Liberal Democrats promise drastic cuts to carbon emissions and pledged, in direct response to 10:10, to implicate immediate change in all 64 of their local councils.

Clearly climate change policy is high on every party’s agenda – so will we see positive, tangible change or public-pleasing pledges?

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