Carbon footprint imbalance revealed

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The average Briton has already caused more carbon emissions in 2009 than a person in the poorest countries will create all year, anti-poverty campaigners have claimed.

Just over a week into the new year, a UK person’s carbon footprint has outstripped the annual output of a person in the 50 least developed countries, the World Development Movement (WDM) said.

According to the charity, the average UK carbon footprint was 9.66 tonnes in 2006 as a result of the use of fossil fuels, compared to 0.23 tonnes for people in the poorest countries. This means that by the end of the ninth day of 2009, a UK person has already caused more emissions than someone from the 50 poorest nations will this year.

Benedict Southworth, director of WDM, said: “It is shocking that … the average Briton will have already produced more carbon this year than someone in a poor country will in the whole of 2009. The world’s poorest people contribute little to climate change but will suffer most from its consequences.”

When Climate Change Secretary Ed Miliband was appointed, the WDM urged him to spend his first 100 days taking a series of measures to cut the UK’s emissions.

The charity said - after 100 days - he had taken action to increase the UK’s emissions reduction target for 2050 to 80% and include aviation, and on plans to ensure 40% of electricity comes from renewable sources by 2020.

But WDM still wants Mr Miliband to refuse permission to build a new coal-fired power station at Kingsnorth, Kent, and support demands of developing countries for funds and technology to help tackle climate change.

The charity also wants the Climate Change Secretary to ensure carbon emission reductions happen in the UK, and aren’t bought through international carbon trading.