the-BA : Lord Browne at Guardian Newsroom

Lord Browne of Madingley, the Group Chief Executive of BP plc, has pledged to switch his electricity to a green energy supplier to help in the fight against climate change during National Science Week 2006.

Lord Browne made his pledge during a special event at the Newsroom (Guardian and Observer Archive and Visitor Centre), London, on 14 March 2006. Lord Browne was visiting a school group from Slough Grammar School as they were making a news front page at the Newsroom. He joins such famous names as Prime Minister Tony Blair, naturalist and broadcaster Sir David Attenborough and world record holder Colin Jackson CBE in support of Click for the Climate, which invites people across the UK to pledge to take small steps towards reducing their energy consumption.

Watching TV, turning on the light or getting a lift to school all use energy. Power stations which generate electricity by burning fossil fuels, such as oil, coal and gas, emit carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide is a so-called “greenhouse gas” and contributes towards climate change. Scientists believe we will see an increase in extreme weather, flooding and rising sea levels as a result of our changing climate.

However, green energy suppliers source their energy from renewable energy sources, such as wind, tidal and solar power. These do not release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

‘By switching over to a green energy provider, I hope to reduce my personal carbon dioxide emissions,’ says Lord Browne, who will take over as President of the BA in September 2006. ‘Climate change is one of the great threats facing us today, and it is important that we all do what we can to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Everyone can make a contribution whether it is in the home or at work in a large industrial organisation’

Click for the Climate was launched at the start of National Science Week by the BA and the Economic & Social Research Council in association with CRed (the Carbon Reduction Programme at the University of East Anglia).

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