Hebden Bridge boy Jude Walker begins 200-mile trek to London over climate change

Jude Walker, from Hebden Bridge said he wanted to lobby Ministers about the need for a carbon tax when he arrives in London.

A petition, urging a parliamentary debate on a carbon tax, was launched in February by the Zero Carbon Campaign.

The Government said it was committed to cutting emissions by 78 per cent by 2035.

Jude was inspired after reading the book Dire Predictions, which he said offered solutions to climate change including a carbon tax. He then read about the Zero Carbon Campaign’s petition.

“I am hoping to get this petition to 100,000 signatures so it can get debated in Parliament,” he said.

“It would make businesses think it will cost them more money to use fossil fuels and non-renewable options than to use green or renewable alternatives.”

Jude’s mother Sarah Courtney said she had “tried to put him off the idea” and hoped that the 10-mile practice walks might lead to him having a rethink.

But she said that ultimately he had his heart set on the idea and that “nothing was going to change his mind”.