E-Day Asks UK Residents to Reduce Electricity Use

The battle against climate change has been described by a church leader as a “moral issue”.  This comes at the launch of a strategy to reduce UK electricity use. The Bishop of London said parts of the world are already affected by change.

Energy Saving Day, which is backed by environmental and religious groups and major energy companies, asks people to turn off electrical devices not in use.

The National Grid will monitor what effect this has on UK consumption.

Major energy companies including EDF, E.On and National Power are offering customers simplified access to home insulation.

At a launch event featuring a bicycle-powered cinema showing specially-commissioned short films on climate, bishop Dr Richard Chartres made the moral case for taking part.

“Let us remember people in the Ganges delta who are already feeling the effects of sea level rise and climate change,” he said.

“The science changes year by year - though rarely in the right direction - but the moral imperative remains the same.”

E-Day was conceived and developed by Matt Prescott, a scientist and long-time campaigner for low-energy lightbulbs.

“I’m delighted by the way in which so many organisations from all sectors of society have been prepared to see what they can do to help tackle climate change,” he told BBC News.

e-day.org.uk