​Green Party members in Cheltenham are backing Gloucestershire Media's campaign for change in Gloucestershire.

The branch has joined our Gloucestershire 10:10 campaign to encourage the county to cut its carbon footprint by 10 per cent in 2010.

John Heywood, leader of the Cheltenham branch, explained that the party was keen to back any project that would see a greener future for Gloucestershire.

He said: “I think the general public needs to see how easy it is to make an impression on the problem we are facing with climate change and reducing carbon emissions.

“It is great that we can all get together and do our bit.”

Mr Heywood said he believed the campaign would work if it was exciting and captured people’s imagination.

He said: “It is important that we don’t make it all too heavy. It has got to have an element of fun to give people the choice to join in.”

The Gloucestershire 10:10 campaign was launched last month by the Echo and our sister paper, The Citizen.

Mr Heywood said he hoped that the campaign would steer the county in the right direction.

He said: “We have seen the council struggling with these ideas recently – particularly when they were discussing the airport expansion.”

We are asking anyone, from individuals who want to do more around the home, to businesses that are aiming to recycle more and waste less, to sign up and slice their carbon footprint by the end of the year. We will be publishing regular features and a series of supplements in all our papers featuring tips and case studies on how to cut your carbon emissions.