David Ruffley MP has today asked his constituents in Suffolk to give their backing to Energy Saving Week.

To mark the start of the week, which begins today, the Energy Saving Trust surveyed 5,000 people across Europe to assess their energy saving habits. The survey revealed the UK to be the worst energy waster in Europe and on schedule to waste £11 billion and around 43m tonnes of carbon dioxide by 2010.

Leaving mobile phone chargers plugged in, lights switched on and televisions on standby were among the most common bad habits.

As part of Energy Saving Week the Energy Saving Trust is asking everyone to commit to saving 20 percent of the energy they use each day.

David said:

'According to the Energy Saving Trust, the UK is the worst waster of energy in Europe and is on schedule to waste a colossal £11 billion by 2010.

'It is important that we in Suffolk do our bit to rectify this performance.

'Dealing with green issues responsibly is one of the biggest challenges facing us today and there are some quite simple changes that each of us can make to our day to day lives that will help get us on the road to a cleaner, greener future.

'By boiling only enough water for the cup of tea we are making, we could save enough electricity in a year to run half of all the street lighting in the Country. By turning our washing machines down to 30ŒÁ C we can save 40 percent of the energy normally used.

'Other handy tips can include using energy saving light bulbs, unplugging phone chargers when they are not in use and not leaving our televisions on standby.

'These are small changes we can all make to our day to day lives and it is simply a matter of taking the time to do so.

'This week is Energy Saving Week and I hope that this week my constituents across Suffolk will make the extra effort, along with me, to make a lasting difference to our environment.

'We are all in this together and only together can we go on to meet the environmental challenges so important to our future."