In light of the increasing awareness of climate change, Tearfund has introduced the 'Don't Be Derek' campaign.

According to the Christian relief agency, Derek is the 'bad cop of climate change, and the Mr Big of heat-trapping carbon emissions'. His energy-hungry lifestyle is fuelled by the quest for comfort and convenience.

Tearfund urges the British public not to be like Derek, as they also launched the church climate change challenge, which is about helping people switch on to energy-saving, with top tips to cut climate-changing carbon dioxide emissions at home, at church and during travel.

In other news, the European Union has recently committed itself to tackling climate change as key European leaders, including Britain's Tony Blair, commenced a summit in Brussels this week.

Key figures vowed to cut carbon emissions by at least 20 per cent from the 1990 levels by 2020.

Current EU President, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she was hopeful that an agreement could be forthcoming for a binding target on the use of renewable fuels.

Prior to the summit, Prime Minister Tony Blair told reporters that there was a real possibility to show how Europe could lead a debate on climate change, energy security and deregulation.

"There is a fantastic opportunity under the German presidency to show world leadership on a number of big issues," Blair said.