Article: Boy, 11, starts 200-mile walk

An 11-year-old boy has begun a 200-mile (321km) walk from his home in Yorkshire to Westminster to raise awareness of climate change.

Jude, 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% 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."