Conservatives sign up to renewables

Environmental campaigners have welcomed David Cameron's pledge to switch his personal energy supply to renewable sources.

Continuing his mission to change the image of his party, The Tory chief urged the public to follow his example.

He was joined by members of the shadow cabinet members and Conservative Party staff who were also set to switch their home energy supplies to a renewable energy supplier.

The online move is in support of the Climate Change Now campaign.

During the event Zac Goldsmith, deputy chairman of the party's quality of life policy group, also urged the public to "make a difference".

Members of the shadow cabinet switching their personal suppliers include Peter Ainsworth, Alan Duncan, Caroline Spelman, Francis Maude and Oliver Letwin.

Cameron said it was "incredibly important for us to show that politics isn't just about policies and elections, it's about personal commitment and making change happen".

"This event with Climate Change Now is the first of many ways in which I want the Conservative Party to make a difference - not just through our policies but through our personal commitment and passion for change," he added.

"Today, I'm emailing our members and writing to every Conservative Association chairman to encourage our membership to visit the Climate Change Now website and switch their electricity supplier to a renewable source.

"Over the weeks and months ahead, we'll be organising constituency campaigns to promote Climate Change Now to members of the public.

"We have a shared responsibility to tackle climate change, and Climate Change Now's fantastic campaign makes it easy for everyone to do just that."

Peter Ainsworth, the shadow environment secretary, said the campaign was "positive for both the environment and the political process".

 And Friends of the Earth climate campaigner Katie Elliott said: "Tackling climate change is the most important challenge facing us today and it is crucial that everybody takes whatever action they can to cut their emissions of carbon dioxide.

"It is welcome to see that the Conservatives and David Cameron are backing up their commitments to take action by switching to renewable energy.

"People can also make a real difference by reducing the amount of energy they waste, for example through insulating their home and investing in energy efficient lightbulbs.

"The government must also do more to make it easier and cheaper to make the right energy choices."