Climate march "will be Britain's longest"

LONDON, Jan 26 (Reuters) Christian Aid is recruiting thousands of people to take part in what it says will be the longest march in British history, covering 1,000 miles and lasting 11 weeks, to highlight the dangers of global warming.

The initiative comes as a new survey shows that 95 per cent of students believe climate change should be the government's top priority.

''Climate change is the most serious threat to the future of all of us, but the shocking truth is that it is poor people in the developing world who are already on the frontline of climate chaos,'' said Paul Brannen, Christian Aid's head of campaigns.

''We have a moral duty to stop this now and where better to start than at home?''.

A hard core of 10 people are already committed to walk the whole route which will start from Northern Ireland on July 14 and pass through Scotland, England and Wales before ending at the Labour Party's annual conference in Bournemouth.

A scientific report due out next week says global average temperatures will rise by between two and 4.5 degrees Celsius by 2100, due mainly to emissions of carbon gases from burning fossil fuels for power and transport.

The resulting climate changes will melt polar ice caps, cause floods and famines, put the lives of millions of people at risk and possibly destabilise entire regions.

The government will introduce a Climate Change Bill in March aimed at cutting carbon emissions by 60 per cent by 2050, but which does not set annual targets to reach that figure.

But Christian Aid said the government had to take action now to cut carbon emissions by five per cent a year every year and set a goal of a 90 per cent overall reduction by 2050.

It said it was writing to churches up and down the country asking for support for the march which it said would be in the tradition of the 1936 Jarrow march for jobs and the 1988 Nelson Mandela freedom march.

At the same time, environment group Friends of the Earth said it was launching a global warming advertising campaign on university campuses featuring condoms stretched over factory chimneys, car exhausts and aircraft engines to block emissions.

''Climate change is the biggest threat the planet faces. But the solutions to tackle it, such as alternative energy sources and energy efficient technologies, already exist, and there is still time to act,'' said director Tony Juniper.

''Tomorrow's climate is today's challenge, and students have a crucial role to play in ensuring that we move towards a low-carbon economy,'' he added.

REUTERS PDM KP0950