Turn down. Switch off. Recycle. Walk.

The EU is beefing up the established Reduce, Reuse And Recycle message with another slogan - Turn Down. Switch Off. Recycle. Walk - which was launched yesterday as part of a €4.7 million EU-wide campaign to raise awareness on the practical steps people can take to control climate change.

You Control Climate Change is the title of the campaign which was launched through an activity for schoolchildren at the Valletta Waterfront yesterday morning on World Environment Day, simultaneously with the other European countries.

The presenter of the programme, Marie Briguglio, was however preaching to the converted. "There's the problem of greenhouse gases which enter the atmosphere and then create global warming," a young primary school student explained in a rather authoritative tone.

And why is that bad? Ms Briguglio asked. "Because the weather changes and water levels rise," another boy replied promptly. Xummiemu, the character used by the Environment Ministry for its campaign, had a hard time beating the children during a fast-paced question and answer session.

Ministers, ambassadors and authority chairmen were present for the launch, but the children took centre stage.

The EU's campaign hinges on practical advice included in the campaign website, leaflets and other promotional material that include simple things such as avoiding leaving electronic equipment on stand-by mode, which may save as much as 10 per cent of the energy they use.

In the UK, for instance, a massive washing line was put up in Trafalgar Square, central London, raising awareness about the fact that tumble dryers consume a lot of energy.

The website http://www.climatechange.eu.com also includes a carbon calculator which should tell you the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) saved by each action.

It is estimated that each EU citizen is responsible for 11 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions, mainly CO2, per year.

What you can do to help

¤ Here is a sample of the energy-saving ideas being pushed in the EU campaign:

Turn down
¤ When you make a hot drink boil just the amount of water you need.

¤ Don't set your fridge at the highest cooling setting. When the temperature of your fridge is lower than 5 degrees Celsius, you will only consume more energy; your food will not keep fresh longer.

Switch off
¤ Don't leave TV, computer or stereo sets on stand by. On average a TV set uses 45 per cent of its energy on stand by.

¤ If you turn off the water tap while brushing your teeth you will save several litres of water.

Recycle
¤ If you have a garden, compost your biodegradable waste.

¤ Choose products which come with little packaging and buy refills when you can.

Walk
¤ Avoid using the car for a few kilometres; walk or cycle instead.

¤ Also avoid air travel when possible - aeroplanes emit a huge amount of CO2 emissions into the atmosphere. Flying is the world's fastest growing source of CO2 emissions.