A FURNESS environmental group has called on the new Conservative government to take the lead on tackling the climate emergency - declared by over half the UK's councils including Barrow's.

Extinction Rebellion Furness says urgent action is needed both internationally and locally as the UN climate conference in Madrid ended this week in what the group called predictable failure.

A spokesman for the group said: "At XR Furness we will not go quietly and allow politicians to go back to ‘business as usual.'

"As the environmental campaigner Greta Thunberg told the climate conference, almost nothing is being done by countries and companies. And as a leading scientist put it, the talks were just another delay, set up to fail. Decisions can effectively be vetoed by the big polluters like China and the USA.

"Here, with their overwhelming majority locally and nationally, the Conservatives can take a lead on the climate emergency, so that Britain is seen as setting the agenda for the climate summit in Glasgow next year.

"XR will be working to make sure of this. Our politicians have not done nearly enough locally either. In Cumbria we see the approval of a coal mine - which flies in the face of common sense and certainly affects our ability to meet emission targets."

"We see discussions about flood defences causing problems in Kendal - and we still have no better commitments to public transport, reducing vehicles and improving air quality on the A590 and in town centres like Ulverston and Kendal."

"We will aim to gain wider support from our elected representatives and the community at large to make sure that this decade is one which benefits our children and grandchildren, rather than robs them of a future.

"We want a future of clean air, clean oceans, more biodiversity...and a healthier, happier environment for everyone."