Climate change: Boy, 11, starts 200-mile walk

An 11-year-old boy has begun a 200-mile (321km) walk from his home in Yorkshire to Westminster to raise awareness of climate change.

Jude, from Hebden Bridge, said he wanted to lobby ministers about the need for a carbon tax when he arrives in London.

A petition, urging a parliamentary debate on a carbon tax, was launched in February by the Zero Carbon Campaign.

The government said it was committed to cutting emissions by 78% by 2035.

Jude was inspired after reading the book Dire Predictions, which he said offered solutions to climate change including a carbon tax.

He then read about the Zero Carbon Campaign's petition.

"I am hoping to get this petition to 100,000 signatures so it can get debated in parliament," he said.

"It would make businesses think it will cost them more money to use fossil fuels and non-renewable options than to use green or renewable alternatives."

The government has been examining the relationship between tax and the environment, including a carbon tax.

However, following the consultation it ruled out a wider carbon tax in favour of a UK Emissions Trading System.

Responding to the Carbon Zero Campaign petition a spokesman said: "The government remains committed to maintaining an ambitious carbon price to ensure that polluters continue to pay for their emissions."

Jude came up with the idea to walk to London, inspired by an uncle's friend who cycled around the world, to help raise awareness.

"I also read about a boy who cycled from Palermo in Sicily to England to try and raise awareness for refugees," he said.

He said he intends to walk 10 miles (16km) each day for 21 days and hopes he can inspire other young people to take on their own challenges.

His mother Sarah said: "He is quite a determined child."

She added they had been lent a campervan and were also staying with people along the route.

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