Ahead of the Stop Climate Chaos march and rally in Central London, the Liberal Democrats published dramatic figures showing that Merton was emitting more than twice as much carbon dioxide as the global average.

The borough is, however, doing better at keeping down emissions of the gases that cause climate change than the country as a whole.

Merton Liberal Democrat Peter Taylor said: 

“The latest official figures show that in Merton we are emitting over one million tonnes of carbon each year. This puts us at 5.4 tonnes of carbon per person per year which is 42% per cent less than the UK average of 9.3 tonnes per person. However, this also means that we are emitting twice the global average of around 2.5 tonnes per person. 

“We all need to do as much as we can to cut carbon emissions. Through simple things - like turning down the thermostat, using energy saving light bulbs and not leaving appliances on standby - we can all help to save the environment and cut our energy bills. 

“All the main political parties now agree that we have to tackle climate change, but only the Liberal Democrats have put forward firm plans to change behaviour through tax incentives. Liberal Democrat-run Richmond Council, for example, has recently announced bold new plans to charge variable rates for parking permits depending on how green the car is.  

“It is disappointing that the Conservatives have yet to say exactly what they will do to solve this massive challenge. Riding on huskies in Norway is one thing, but what we really need are policies which cause carbon emissions to fall.”   

Notes

These figures come from the Defra website (http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/statistics/globatmos/regionalrpt/laregionalco2rpt20051021.xls) with some additional statistics calculated.

The data applies to 2003. Netcen, who produced it, have been commissioned to develop a further set of experimental estimates for the year 2004, with some methodological developments, which, according to the Defra website, will be published in autumn 2006 (but they haven't been published yet).