Climate for action THIS year, extreme weather has caused devastation around the world.

Twenty million people have had their lives ruined by flooding in Pakistan, while drought-hit Russia has seen massive forest fires covering Moscow with hazardous smoke for weeks.

Many food crops such as wheat have also been affected by drought, leading to rising food prices.

These problems are likely to get worse if we fail to take climate change seriously.

This month scientists warned that the Greenland ice sheets were close to tipping point and that further global warming could lead to their irreversible melting, with sea levels rising by up to seven metres. Eventually this would put York below sea level.

We only have a few years left to take action to prevent this kind of dangerous climate change.

York can play a role in tackling the problem and the council is producing a climate change action plan.

We should wholeheartedly support the plan, which will lead to better insulation of homes, renewable energy produced locally, better recycling, sustainable transport policies and a better quality of life for all.

Guy Wallbanks, Co-ordinator, York and Ryedale Friends of the Earth, Kingsway West, York.