Joss Stone

I have lived in the countryside in Devon for the last 12 years, since I was 10 years old. Within the last couple of years I have experienced the consequences of climate change. At the end of our garden is a river, and we have always been able to cross it by a ford at any time of the year. But now it is flooding. It is impossible to cross it at certain times of the year, and it sometimes floods parts of our garden. This has never happened before.

We almost never have snow here in Devon. And if we do, it is only for a short spell of time, and it melts away and gets brown and dirty as soon as it hits the ground. But this year we have had a lot of snow. We got so much that I built a full-sized snow-woman that remained standing for a couple of days before it melted away. This I have never experienced before in my life. Of course it was some kind of fun when it happened. But it was also very scary.

The natural cycle of the animals is also affected. I have seen it with the sheep. Normally they have their lambs at the end of March, but now they have them shortly after new year, which is more than two months premature.

Climate change affects everything, but we can all do something to stop it happening. We must do something, even if it is just a little thing. We can turn out the light when don’t need it or we can plant a tree in our garden or in the local park.

FOR OUR CHILDREN'S SAKE

Of course, I am responsible for quite some carbon emissions when I travel round to do my gigs, but one of my projects is to get people to plant trees in connection with all my concerts. In this way, I am trying to do my part to reduce CO2 emissions.

We all live on this precious planet, and we have to respect its beauty and look after it. It is a gift.

We all have to do something, as private individuals, as companies and as governments. Not using the knowledge that already exists about how we can limit climate change and diminish the consequences of it is a sign of disrespect both to ourselves and to our fellow human beings.

We must do something for the sake of the coming generations, for the children of the future, for their children and for their children’s children.