Paul McCartney joins Meat Free Monday Climate Pledge

Last week the McCartney family and Rt Hon Gregory Barker MP, former Minister of State for Energy and Climate Change and now Climate Advisor to David Cameron, launched an online campaign to encourage people to skip meat one day a week in order to reduce their carbon footprint and help tackle climate change.

The 'Meat Free Monday Climate Pledge' campaign (#MFMclimatepledge) is running during the build up to the UN Climate Summit that is taking place in New York next week.

Today Paul McCartney recorded a special video message encouraging people to pledge their support, scroll down to view.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is gathering together global leaders on 23 September – the first time Heads of State will have come together to discuss climate change since Copenhagen in 2009. The summit is being held to jump-start the climate negotiations that are due to conclude with an ambitious global treaty in December 2015. To help build momentum Ban Ki-moon is looking for "bold commitments and actions that will catalyse transformative change".

Meat production is responsible for 14.5 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions, according to the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation, with some scientists saying the percentage is higher. It also requires increasingly unsustainable levels of precious resources (land, water and energy) and is a major contributor towards global environmental degradation and climate change.

To get involved, visit pledge.meatfreemondays.com, pledge to go meat free for one day a week and share the idea with others.