A GROUP of residents and councillors from the Stroud district – including a district councillor for Dursley – travelled to the capital last week to join the biggest ever UK lobby on climate change.

As part of the Speak Up For The Love Of climate lobby, more than 9,000 people from across the country descended on Westminster on Wednesday, June 17, to meet with their MPs to press the UK government to take meaningful action on the environment.

Stroud District Councillor for Dursley Doina Cornell was present at the event and said that Stroud MP Neil Carmichael “seemed to understand the need for urgent action”.

The group of around 20 people from the district met with Mr Carmichael by Lambeth Bridge near The House of Commons to discuss pressing environmental concerns.

Cllr Cornell said: “It was a constructive discussion, as he seems to understand the need for urgent action.

“As the government has committed to reducing its carbon emissions we asked him how this could be done in practice. We also asked what his views were on renewable energy, and how we could support those countries around the world bearing the brunt of climate change when we in the developed world are the main producers of carbon emissions.

"We are meeting him again on September 4 to follow up some of this as we are still not clear on how recent government policies - such as withdrawing support for onshore wind, at risk to UK jobs - will actually move us towards a real reduction in our carbon emissions."

The mass demonstration encouraged participants to share something that they love that will be threatened by climate change.

Stroud’s party was made up of people representing organisations and charities such as Christian Aid, Cafod, Churches Together, Transition Stroud and Gloucestershire Climate Action Network.

MP Neil Carmichael was just one of almost 250 MPs who were grilled to take action on climate change, including Green Party MP Caroline Lucas and Labour leadership hopeful Jeremy Corbyn.

He said: “I was delighted to meet so many constituents at the Climate Coalition campaign lobby of Parliament.

"Britain is leading by example and the Government’s Energy Act is premised on the need to de-carbonise its energy sector – something on which we all can agree. Everything in the Act works towards this goal at the lowest possible cost to the consumer.”