EXTINCTION Rebellion members campaigning for action on climate change held a protest in Tavistock last Thursday (June 25).

The group gathered at St Eustachius’ Church and marched to West Devon and Torridge MP Geoffrey Cox’s constituency office in Paddons Row where they asked him to ‘Act Now’ to take immediate preventative action to halt biodiversity loss and reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2025.

A statement by campaigners said: ‘Coronavirus has brought the fragility of our planet and our environment to all our attention. This pandemic has exposed the inequalities in our country. While we are all vulnerable to infection, certain groups have been revealed to be much more exposed to both health and social inequalities.

‘Extinction Rebellion took action in Tavistock to deliver a letter to Geoffrey Cox MP demanding that he bring this to government and insist that we are beyond the point of party politics and must act to save our planet now. Going back to “normal” is no longer an option.’

Mr Cox said: ‘I am proud of our world-leading role in tackling climate change, with the UK the first country to legislate to reach net zero emissions by 2050 and the fastest in the G20 to cut emissions.

‘The 2050 target was set by the independent Committee on Climate Change and is in line with the EU’s climate strategy and our international obligations under the 2016 Paris Agreement. But it is essential that we keep in mind that the UK has reduced carbon emissions more than almost any other industrialised nation, that we are only two per cent of the world’s emissions and that only a global effort will be effective to combat this threat, so I was pleased to be part of the cabinet that decided to host the next and crucial World Climate Change Summit (COP 26), which is to take place in November 2021.

‘The Prime Minister has shown personal leadership on this issue by creating and leading a new Cabinet Committee on Climate Change to ensure all government departments are focused on tackling this challenge.

‘The budget reinforced the UK’s strong track record in this area by doubling funding for energy innovation, investing £640-million in tree planting and peatland restoration and over £1-billion to support the transition to electric vehicles.’