10:10 climate campaign gathers momentum

Actors, councils and big business sign up to movement to cut carbon emissions by 10%
Damian Carrington and David Adam
The Observer, Sunday 27 September 2009
The mobile phone giant O2, Manchester city council and In the Loop actor Peter Capaldi have become the latest big names to sign up to the 10:10 climate change campaign.
The campaign, supported by the Observer and the Guardian, requires participants to cut their carbon emissions by 10% by the end of 2010 and has grown rapidly since it was launched on 1 September at London's Tate Modern. It now has 20,000 individuals signed up, along with almost 1,000 businesses, 500 other bodies such as schools and hospitals, and Gordon Brown and his entire government and the shadow cabinet.
The 10:10 organisers hope that, by demonstrating that so many people want action on global warming, they can pressure Ed Miliband, the energy and climate change secretary, into committing the whole country to a big emissions cut and to deliver a strong global treaty at UN talks in Copenhagen in December.
Film-maker Franny Armstrong, who founded 10:10 and directed the eco-documentary The Age of Stupid, said: "We couldn't be more delighted that 10:10 has been so enthusiastically taken up across every sector of UK society. It's also looking like it will soon go global, as we're getting inundated with groups wanting to set up 10:10 Australia and 10:10 USA and everywhere in between.
"I think everyone can see that the time for talking is over and that, by joining 10:10, they are joining forces with everyone else who is ready to start getting on with actually solving the problem."
Ronan Dunne, O2's chief executive, said: "Joining 10:10 both underlines our commitment to reducing our carbon footprint even further and gives us access to a wealth of advice on how to help us achieve this. We urge other UK businesses to join." O2, which has 20 million customers and 11,000 employees, is also undertaking annual green audits by environmentalist Jonathon Porritt and will aim to improve the energy efficiency of its transmitter network, which accounts for 80% of its energy use.
Other new business recruits include two FTSE-100 heavyweights, the insurance company Aviva and the commercial property company Land Securities, as well as estate agents Knight Frank, pollsters Ipsos MORI and consulting engineers Atkins.
Manchester City Council is the biggest local authority to join 10:10. It follows 27 others, including Oxford, Coventry, Wirral and five London boroughs. Richard Leese, Manchester city council's leader, said: "Cutting our emissions by 10% in one year is a bold target, but we are confident we can achieve this, sending a message to other organisations that it is possible to make substantial reductions."
The new recruits to 10:10 join a formidable array of politicians, including Ed Miliband and 120 other MPs. Other notable supporters include the Royal Mail, Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, the Cheshire police force and celebrities such as designer Stella McCartney.
What you can do
■ Pledge to cut your own emissions at www.1010uk.org.
■ If you run a company, sign it up. If you work for a company, write to your bosses and ask them to join.
■ Help 10:10 spread its message by offering financial support at 1010uk.org/donate.
■ Read more on the 10:10 campaign, the huge response so far and how to sign up at guardian.co.uk/1010.