skip ad

Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke is launching a Europe-wide campaign to get governments and the EU to commit to year-on-year climate change emissions cuts.

The Friends of the Earth's Big Ask Europe campaign is also calling on the European Union to commit to more stringent emissions targets of at least 30 per cent reductions by 2020 and 90 per cent by 2050.

Campaigners from 17 countries are calling on their governments to sign up to legally-binding annual targets to ensure progress can be measured and meeting emission reduction commitments is not delayed.

Friends of the Earth Europe also wants the EU to force their members to cut greenhouse gases year-on-year through a strong compliance system.

Yorke said: "We will never wake from the nightmare of climate change unless our national governments and the European Union act. They are the only ones who can put the structures in place that will help us tackle climate change.

"By committing to annual cuts in our emissions at a national and European level we can play our part in tackling climate change and set an example to the rest of the world to follow."

The Radiohead singer launched the UK's Big Ask campaign in Britain in May 2005 and is due to kick-start the European campaign in Brussels at an event with EU environment commissioner Stavros Dimas.

Friends of the Earth Europe's chairman Martin Rocholl said: "It is too easy for governments to ignore long term targets on climate change. Annual targets will make today's and tomorrow's politicians accountable for cutting emissions."

© Independent Television News Limited 2008. All rights reserved.