Ann Coffey

|

Stockport Express Column- November 2009

I recently signed up to the 10:10 campaign to cut my carbon footprint by 10 per cent next year in 2010. This campaign gives us all the chance to show that we can make a difference on a personal level to tackling climate change by cutting down on our energy use.

To help me do this I have joined the British Gas trials of smart meters. I have a visual display unit in my kitchen which tells me exactly how much gas or electricity I am using and the exact cost. It also gives me the cost of the previous day’s consumption. It really makes me think about turning lights off or the central heating down. On a recent visit to Tithe Barn Primary School I also had many good suggestions from the children about how to cut down on my energy costs at home.

My smart meter is made by a Stockport business – Landis and Gyr Ltd. It is good that Stockport companies are at the forefront of advanced green technologies which will provide jobs for local people now and in the future. Over the next few years these meters will be in everybody’s home .They will enable people to control their energy use and cut costs.

Tens of thousands of people and thousands of business have already signed up to the 10:10 campaign. Everyone who signs up becomes part of a big national effort.

The UK are the first country to legislate to bring down CO2 emissions with our Climate Change Act.

However it is also important we get international agreement about setting carbon emission targets. The UK cannot make a difference by itself.

The UN Climate Change conference in Copenhagen in December will hopefully bring this another step forward. But in the meantime we can all do our bit by signing up.