Carbon Emissions In Bedford Borough Unsustainable Say Lib Dems

10.53.07am GMT Mon 13th Nov 2006

Christine McHugh says that we can all take action to help tackle climate change

Dramatic new figures revealed by the Liberal Democrats show that Bedford Borough is emitting more than three times as much carbon dioxide as the global average.

As part of the Liberal Democrat campaign for a green tax switch - taxing pollution not people - Bedford Borough Liberal Democrat Deputy Group Leader Christine McHugh has published figures showing the carbon emissions per head of population in the borough, and how this compares to the national and global averages.

Commenting on the issue, Christine McHugh said:

"With a population of 150,000, Bedford Borough is emitting 1155,000 tonnes of carbon each year on the latest official figures. This puts us at 7.7 tonnes of carbon per person per year, slightly less than the UK average of 9.3 tonnes per person, but still far higher than the global average of around 2.5 tonnes per person.'

"We need to go further to get down to a sustainable level that will stop climate chaos and rising sea levels.'

Through simple things like turning down the thermostat, using green energy, using energy saving light bulbs and not leaving appliances on standby we can all help to save the environment and cut our energy bills."