Plaid Cymru MEP Jill Evans is backing Friends of the Earth's campaign against climate change and has offered her own special 'climate deal' at an event in the European Parliament in Brussels.

Ms. Evans pledged to use her vote in parliament to combat climate change by pushing for 20% energy savings by 2020.

The Friends of the Earth 'climate deal' campaign has two parts, firstly people are encouraged to make a personal pledge of something they'll do as individuals to combat climate change, and secondly, there is a demand for a change in government policy to cut greenhouse gas emissions. Friends of the Earth will be presenting the pledges at the UN Climate Change Conference in Kenya next month.

Jill Evans was able to keep her pledge by voting in favour of ambitious targets for cutting greenhouse gas emissions (80% by 2050) at a meeting of the European Parliament's Environment Committee.

Ms Evans said:

"Climate change is the greatest environmental threat of our time. Radical action is needed urgently. Many politicians pay lip service to the problem but when it comes to the hard choices they back down. My commitment today is that I will never do that. I will always use my vote for the future of this planet and will not be swayed by the profit driven agenda of big business. People are looking for political leadership on this crucial issue.

"People are becoming more aware of the contribution they can make as individuals to fighting climate change but the major decisions have to be made by governments. There is a wide range of measures that can be taken if they only had the political will.

"Wales needs a mix of renewable technologies, including wind, hydro, wave and tidal, biomass, solar and hydrogen. It is quite possible for us to implement an energy policy for Wales that would be truly sustainable."

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