We've regretfully had to abandon plans for a Horsham 10:10 Support Group as we found there was no demand for it and we felt we were just duplicating effort with the national campaign.

10:10 is a national drive to unite individuals, institutions and companies across the UK behind the simple aim of reducing their carbon emissions by 10% during 2010. It was started by Franny Armstrong, the director of Age of Stupid, backed by a broad coalition including The Guardian, major energy suppliers, The Energy Saving Trust and The Carbon Trust. It has rapidly attracted widespread support with 20,000 individuals, including the entire cabinet and opposition front benches, and 1000 business signups in the first month. Cutting 10% in a year is a bold target but for most of us is easily achievable and is in line with what climate scientists agree is needed right now.

10:10 has three distinct phases. The first was to gather commitments for individuals, businesses and organisations. The second was to challenge the UK Government to match the pledges with ambitious action for the country as a whole. The third stage, which started in January 2010, is to help supporters implement their cuts by offering expert advice and enabling them to share their experiences with others on the same journey. After the disappointing outcome at Copenhagen, it's even more important to demonstrate that we can succeed in making a good-sized dent in the UK emissions in 2010 and beyond!

For inspiration, read this article about our friend, Anne Brewer, who has been hailed as the 'green granny with no carbon footprint'! Anne's asked me to stress that it is just their household energy use that has a zero footprint, their food, waste and travel still cause some emissions but they're working hard to keep those as low as possible. See here for another inspirational local eco-gran who cut her fuel bills to 23p a day and here for the family aiming for zero-waste this year. 10-10 Global has now been launched!

No Pressure?

'No Pressure', a short film directed by Richard Curtis for 10:10, which showed school children being blown up for failing to sign up to cut their carbon emissions has caused furore around the world. See this Guardian article for a useful round-up of the debate.

Our feeling is that it was a gift to climate change deniers and that 10:10 compounded the mistake in their initial 'apology' which implied that the people who were offended lacked a sense of humour. When so many parts of the world are under threat of terrorist acts it really was both shockingly unfunny and insensitive. However, we don't think it should detract from their achievements in engaging people to take practical steps to reduce their carbon emissions or distract us all from the important work still to be done. They will have learned their lessons from this serious lapse in judgement and should be allowed to move on. (4/10/10)

Useful Links

You'll find information on reducing your carbon footprint in our Resources section.

10:10 Website

The Guardian 10-10 section

Chris Goodall - How to reduce your carbon emissions by 10%

iMeasure - an on-line home energy monitoring website created by the Environmental Change Institute at the University of Oxford. It enables you to track energy usage over time and set-up carbon clubs to compare your usage. The website gives a detailed comparison and analysis of other carbon calculators. Using the tool will also provide valuable data for their research.

Energy Saving Trust - their Carbon Cutter calculates your footprint and produces a personalised action plan

Resurgence Quick Carbon Caluculator

West Sussex County Council was one of the first local authorities to sign up, read about their pledges here.