Wales' message for a greener future

Tony Juniper, Executive Director of Friends of the Earth and Huw Irranca-Davies MP, Wales Office Government Whip, sent a clear message that climate change should be at the top of the political agenda for the new Brown Government.

Speaking yesterday at the launch of Friends of the Earth's Cymru national conference in Neath, Tony Juniper and Huw Irranca-Davies called on politicians throughout Wales to lead the way in urging tougher UK climate change laws.

Tony Juniper said: "We need tougher action to tackle climate change. Government proposals for a new climate change law must include annual targets for cutting carbon dioxide emissions by at least three per cent each year. This will force successive governments to put climate change at the core of all their policies and ensure that Wales and the UK move towards a low carbon economy. Most of the solutions to climate change already exist. It is the political will that's lacking."

Huw Irranca-Davies MP, Wales Office Government Whip, said: "The biggest challenge for climate change is social justice. This should be at the heart of all Government policy both here in Wales and at a UK and global level. Tackling climate change requires a fundamental shift in how we think and how we act and this needs to be at the centre of all Government policy."