IN December, world leaders will meet in Copenhagen to seek a global agreement to address the climate crisis.

To secure a deal, Britain and the developed world need to accept their historical responsibility for the industrial emissions that are causing climate change and take action.

However, on 21 October, Labour failed to match climate change rhetoric with real action.

A Liberal Democrat motion calling for Government, Parliament and all public sector bodies to cut carbon emissions by ten per cent by the end of 2010 was defeated by 226 votes to 297.

I contacted Dari Taylor, MP for Stockton South, to ask her to vote for the motion. I was disappointed that I only got an auto reply from her and that she voted against.

In the meantime, also on Wednesday, Stockton Council voted to support the 10:10 campaign. Local Lib Dem councillors are having a competition to se who can reduce their carbon emissions the most.

Personally, my house has had a recent energy audit.

The Government has failed to understand the level of support for the 10:10 campaign or to get the message across to the public about the need to take action now about climate change.

It’s interesting that David Miliband supported the 10:10 campaign at its launch.

Britain needs a government that sets an example and delivers ambitious measures for carbon emissions reduction in the UK.

The defeat of the Liberal Democrat motion means that the Government has failed to send a clear message to the British public, and the world, that the UK is serious about tackling climate change now.

Liberal Democrats are committed to supporting the 10:10 campaign and tackling climate change now. Last year they successfully added an 80 per cent emissions reduction target to the Climate Change Act.

Jacquie Bell, Dunbar, Scotland.