Local ‘environment campaigners’ needed to help world’s poor – Benn urges climate change action

November 23, 2006

Britain needs a generation of environmental and political campaigners to tackle climate change said Hilary Benn MP, the Secretary of State for International Development, in a speech today (Thurs) to the New Local Government Network.

He said that politics cannot only be about voting or signing petitions it also has to be about taking action in our personal lives too. Citing new evidence that public concern about the environment is six times higher than it was in 2003 he argues that small changes to our lives could have a global effect as climate change will impact most severely on the poorest people in the world.

He said that the environment movement that is now gathering pace could be as successful as the Make Poverty History campaign of 2005 and argued that activists need to use new methods of campaigning to bring about real change. Speaking at the New Local Government Network (NLGN) Hilary Benn MP said:

“Make Poverty History and climate change are both rooted in global justice. But tackling climate change is a local issue too. Because as well as political pressure, it’s about us changing the way we live. It’s about putting politics at the heart of everything we do. Not an old kind of politics, limited to voting. A new kind of politics that informs how we live.”

Pledging that he will try to make changes in his own home, Hilary Benn MP said:

“A politics that says I am going to change. I might start small. I might just start recycling if I didn’t before. Or I might just take the bus instead of driving. But I will make a difference. And who knows, it might even improve my quality of life.

Britain needs a new generation of environmental and political campaigners who see a chance to make a difference and who take it. Because the best way to persuade the world that we mean it about climate change, is to show them that we mean it.“

Calling for a new type of politics, shared between politicians and the people, he said:

“Political power isn’t only something politicians have. It’s something people lend politicians. And the more politicians share power with people, the more power we all have to get things done.”

Director of NLGN, Chris Leslie said:

“Improving the quality of the environment and tackling climate change must begin at a local level. With examples such as recycling or micro-generation local councils are demonstrating the vision and leadership required to make real improvements to the lives of local environments. Hilary Benn’s speech shows that citizen activism should be at the heart of the government’s agenda in creating a better environment for all”.

Notes to Editors:

Hilary Benn MP, Secretary of State for International Development will deliver a keynote address: Global Environmental Challenge, Local Environmental Response, outlining how the local action can tackle climate change and improve citizen’s quality of life.

The New Local Government Network (NLGN) is an independent think tank, seeking to transform public services, revitalise local political leadership and empower local communities

Media enquiries and press accreditation to James Hulme on 020 7357 0116/ 07779264938 or james.hulme@nlgn.org.uk

Sir Nicholas Stern, Head of the Government Economics Service and Adviser to the Government on the economics of climate change and development presented his report on the Economics of Climate Change to the Prime Minister and the Chancellor of the Exchequer on 30th October 2006. Further information is available here http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/independent_reviews/stern_review_economics_climate_change/sternreview_index.cfm

Further information about the work of the Department for International Development is available at www.dfid.gov.uk

According to MORI polls the number of people who rate the environment as one of the most important issues facing the country was six times higher in August 2006 than in August 2003


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