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Mr Benn launched a new advertising campaign encouraging people to make small changes to reduce their impact on the planet. The campaign focuses on simple changes such as switching to low energy light bulbs, unplugging electronic chargers, considering what transport to take and using less water, as well as directing people to information on many more changes they can make.

The advertising is part of Defra's Act on CO2 campaign to increase awareness and understanding of the impact everyday actions have on our CO2 emissions, and help people identify what they can do about it.

More than 40% of the UK's carbon dioxide emissions come from people's homes and travel.

Mr Benn said:

?We have a really big challenge: a small planet, a growing population, and finite resources. We need to ensure that we only take out what we can put back in.

?Events like Live Earth can help bring people together to encourage them to take action locally, nationally and internationally - and with more than 40 per cent of the UK's carbon dioxide emissions coming from people's homes and travel, inspiring people to act is increasingly urgent.

?I hope the Act on CO2 campaign will help all of us to understand our impact on the climate and identify simple ways that we can make a difference.?

Defra last month launched an online CO2 calculator to enable people to work out their carbon footprint using government-recognised data and calculations.

Recent research commissioned by Defra showed that 94% of British people think that the world's climate is changing, and 66% say that they are personally taking action to limit climate change.

However, when asked what action they could take to limit climate change, less than half (43%) mentioned reducing electricity use, 14 percent mentioned reducing energy for heating, and only 6 per cent mentioned reducing water use.

The national TV advertising launches on terrestrial television during Coronation Street on Monday 9 July and will run on terrestrial and Sky TV throughout the summer, and show people doing everyday CO2-producing activities leaving black, sticky tar-like footprints behind them.

The national press campaign continues the theme and begins on Saturday 14 July in both tabloid and broadsheets, running until the end of October.

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