Carbon Emissions in Sheffield unsustainable - Lib Dems

4.17.21pm GMT Wed 15th Nov 2006

Liberal Democrats at the 'Green Tax Switch' stall in the City Centre on Saturday.

Dramatic new figures revealed by the Liberal Democrats show that Sheffield people are doing better than the country as a whole in keeping down emissions of the gases that cause climate change, but is still emitting more than three times as much carbon dioxide as the global average. Lib Dems ran a 'Green Tax Switch' stall in the City Centre to help reduce carbon emissions in Sheffield.

As part of the Liberal Democrat campaign for a green tax switch - taxing pollution not people - local Lib Dems have published figures showing the carbon emissions per head of population in the borough, and how this compares to the national and global averages.

Liberal Democrats ran a 'Green Tax Switch' stall in the City Centre on Saturday. They distributed leaflets and offered practical advice on how to make simple lifestyle changes that will not only help to save the planet by reducing carbon emissions, but will also save the people of Sheffield money.

Cllr Simon Clement-Jones, Liberal Democrat Shadow Cabinet member for the Environment, said:

"With a population of over 512,000 Sheffield is emitting about 3,960,000 tonnes of carbon each year on the latest official figures. This puts us at 7.7 tonnes of carbon per person per year, compared to the UK average of 9.3 tonnes per person, but still far higher than the global average of around 2.5 tonnes per person"

"This is a creditable record, but we need to go further to get down to a sustainable level that will stop climate chaos, rising sea levels and storms"

"Our Green Tax Switch stall in the City Centre on the weekend distributed leaflets and offered practical advice on how to make simple lifestyle changes that will not only help to save the planet, but will also save the people of Sheffield money"

"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"