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Archived press release

Friends of the Earth director names first Eurostar train to leave St Pancras

14 November 2007

Friends of the Earth executive director Tony Juniper joined Eurostar chief executive Richard Brown in naming the first Paris-bound train - Tread Lightly - to leave the newly re-opened St Pancras International station this morning. Friends of the Earth hailed the new high-speed service as a "landmark day for green travel."

Tony Juniper, executive director of Friends of the Earth, said:

"Today is a landmark day for green travel and the first step towards making short-haul flights a thing of the past. Eurostar shows that short-haul rail travel is not only better for the environment than flying, but that it can also be quicker, easier and more comfortable as well.

"The Government should now do all it can to encourage people to switch from planes to trains for the short distances between Europe's great cities. It must include emissions from aircraft in its proposed climate change law. We need a revolution in the way we travel in order to tackle climate change, and rail is the way forward."

Last month Friends of the Earth and Eurostar launched a partnership [1] which called on the Government to strengthen its proposals for a new climate change law [2], and to do more to support low-carbon travel solutions, such as switching from planes to greener trains.

Notes

Friends of the Earth has led the campaign for a new climate change law through The Big Ask campaign (www.thebigask.com). Although the Government has agreed to introduce a new climate law, Friends of the Earth and others say that it must be strengthened to make it really effective. This should include:

• Cutting emissions by 80 per cent by 2050 (the current target is 60 per cent), with annual `milestone' to ensure that the target is on track;
• Including Britain's share of international emissions from aviation and shipping.

Friends of the Earth partners with Eurostar

For further information please contact the Friends of the Earth media team on 020 7566 1649.

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