UK 'must act first to cut carbon'

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Britain must get its house in order on climate change before persuading other countries to follow suit, the environment secretary has said.

David Miliband was speaking as he launched a website offering a personal "carbon footprint" calculation.

He said it was worth people watching their carbon output, despite the fact the UK's overall output was dwarfed by countries such as China.

If Britain did not change, there was no chance of getting others to, he argued.

"It's massively in our interest, both economically and environmentally but also environmentally, to change our own ways," Mr Miliband said.

Carbon footprint

The new calculator enables people to work out their carbon footprint using government-recognised data and calculations.

The calculator will then recommend ways to reduce the footprint.

I came out better than I expected David MilibandEnvironment Secretary

Mr Miliband said his own carbon footprint was calculated as 2.76 tonnes, below the national average of more than four tonnes.

"I came out better than I expected," he said.

Asked about China's impact on the environment he said: "The Chinese are industrialising very fast but it will be beyond 2025 before the amount of pollution that they create is anything like that which has been created by the US or the UK over the last 100 years."

Dr Gary Haq from Stockholm Environment Institute said the calculator was a good way to get people involved.

"If you think about 40% of carbon emissions in the UK come directly from us as individuals, so if we can reduce our carbon footprint then we are making contributions to combating global climate change."

Shifting blame

Martyn Williams, a climate change campaigner from Friends of the Earth, said the calculator was useful if used as part of much wider policies.

He said: "It's really important that people start to understand what they can do but I just have this slight worry that by putting the responsibility onto people, without necessarily coming forward with policies that will help people to cut carbon dioxide, the government could be shifting the blame on to people rather than doing its bit itself."