Tory frontbench signs up to 10:10 climate change campaign

David Adam and Randeep Ramesh in Delhi
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 2 September 2009 23.11 BST
Politicians across the spectrum today embraced the 10:10 climate change campaign, with the Conservative party pledging their entire frontbench would sign up.
Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg signed up personally and the party said it would put a motion before its autumn conference to commit the party as a whole to meet the campaign aim of cutting carbon emissions by 10% in 2010.
Organisers of the 10:10 campaign said last night that more than 8,000 individuals had signed up. Some 270 businesses, including law firm Pinsent Masons, Reed Recruitment, Ocado and Oracle, and four major power companies, have so far pledged their support, as well as nine councils, 42 schools and 125 other organisations, such as the thinktank Demos.
Actor Alan Rickman, comedian Shazia Mirza and former England footballer Graeme Le Saux were among those who committed to cut their own emissions yesterday, joining a roster of high profile backers that includes Delia Smith, Colin Firth, Nicholas Stern and Stella McCartney.
The shadow energy secretary, Greg Clark, said: "Conservatives strongly support this campaign. Once again it shows how voluntary action can show the way, proving that a low-carbon future is an essential, achievable and urgent priority."
Energy and climate secretary Ed Miliband spoke to the 10:10 launch event at Tate Modern from India via phone link. He pledged to cut his personal carbon footprint and emissions from his department's headquarters by 10% in 2010.
The Green party said it would encourage its members to join up to the 10:10 campaign, and could table an emergency resolution to its conference on the subject. Caroline Lucas, the leader of the party, said: "I would encourage all Green party members to commit to this, bearing in mind that most Greens will have been striving to reduce their carbon footprints anyway, and for many people the next steps towards, for example, carbon-neutral housing, would need to be facilitated by a package of government grants, subsidies and feed-in tariffs."
The 10:10 campaigners aim to provide a way for people to take action against climate change that is both meaningful and achievable, and to place pressure on the British government.
The Department of Energy and Climate Change said: "The government welcomes the national 10:10 campaign. By signing up … we hope people will send a broader message to governments round the world.
"Governments can't do everything so we're delighted that there are mass movements such as this."
A further aspiration of the 10:10 campaign is to influence international talks in Copenhagen in December at which a treaty to tackle global warming will be thrashed out. , Today diplomacy ahead of the talks continued with Ed Miliband meeting the Indian government in Dehli and stating clearly that the country would not face targets to cut its carbon emissions in the near future because it "took climate change seriously".
This "softly-softly" approach won immediate plaudits in Dehli, and contrasts with that of US secretary of state Hilary Clinton, whose visit in July resulted in a spat with Indian environment minister Jairam Ramesh. India has categorically ruled out binding greenhouse gas cuts, arguing that rich nations caused the problem and must not deny Indians the opportunity to grow out of poverty. India also insists that industrial nations demonstrate curbs on their own pollution before asking developing nations to set limits.
The US wants major developing countries to agree to rein emissions in before Washington commits to any global deal.