Christian agencies take on Climate Change Bill

Christian relief and development agencies Tearfund, Cafod and Christian Aid are among 60 organisations launching an online networking map for local organisations and groups in the UK to work together on climate change issues.

The I Count Communities Map, which goes live with 350 groups from 209 organisations, is the latest initiative from I Count, the largest UK campaign on climate change.

The map coincides with the UK Government's draft Climate Change Bill which will be debated in Parliament this autumn. If passed, the Bill would make the UK the first country in the world to commit itself to legally binding reductions in carbon dioxide emissions.

During the "crucial" next six months, local groups are being encouraged to connect and work together in an unprecedented way and collectively lobby their MPs on why and how the Government needs to ensure the UK delivers a bold Bill which commits the UK to at least an 80 per cent reduction in carbon dioxide emissions by 2050.

Ashok Sinha, Director of the I Count campaign, said: "The Climate Change Bill is a great opportunity for the UK to make world history by producing an effective legal framework to lower carbon emissions - but only if we get it right.

"Currently, it will not keep us below the widely accepted 20C global warming danger threshold as it includes a CO2 reduction target which will put us on course for a 40C rise with devastating consequences.

"The I Count Communities Map enables local groups to work together to convince their MPs why and how the Government needs to make the Bill work and this means raising the carbon dioxide reduction target from 60 per cent to 80 per cent."

Groups all over the country will be joining up to lobby their MPs to produce a collective push at a local level and ask them to support a number of changes to the Climate Change Bill, including and increase the carbon dioxide reduction target, from 60, to at least 80 per cent by 2050.

They are also looking for assurances that emissions from international aviation and shipping are included in the reduction targets and that binding carbon budgets with annual milestones are set to make sure that emissions reductions do not go off track.