David Ruffley has joined the new All Party Parliamentary Group on Climate Change which will have its inaugural meeting in the House of Commons on 29 June.

The objective of the Group is to raise awareness of the threat of climate change and to promote policies which minimise that threat.

David said: 'I get a huge amount of correspondence from constituents- especially from Suffolk schools and colleges- about climate change. Climate change is topping the agenda of the G8 so it is important that we do more in the UK to push climate change up the national agenda. I want to play a role in this as a member of this new All Party Parliamentary Group.

We must manage our environment better for the sake of the planet and our own quality of life. The current Government has squandered the chance to do something about this issue.

Climate change is a great challenge. In the last thirty years, world temperature has increased by almost half a degree centigrade. We cannot predict with total certainty what will happen in future decades. But the risk of abrupt climate change is very real.

A recent report for the Pentagon states that "with over 400 million people living in drier, subtropical, often over populated and economically poor regions today, climate change and its follow on effects pose a severe risk to political, economic and social stability". Climate change has happened in the past through a variety of natural causes but human activity seems a major factor in the changes we see today.

I look forward to working with other members of this new Group to raise awareness of the threat of climate change and to promote policies which minimise that threat.'