A nun has delivered a climate change petition to Downing Street containing more than 750,000 signatures - a strong message that if we do not act now, it will be too late.

Sister Karen Marguerite d’Artois, a member of Rosary Priory Convent in Bushey, travelled to Westminster on May 31, with a petition signed by supporters of campaign groups and charities calling for urgent action on climate change.

Sister Karen, who has been an avid climate campaigner with the aid agency CAFOD for many years, hopes her actions will inspire UK leaders to enact a ‘net zero target’. She hopes emissions from cars, planes and buildings will be urgently reduced and will not exceed the amount that can be removed from the air using techniques such as planting trees.

She said: "We have to act now to save our planet. The government needs to introduce legislation so that we can reach net zero emissions as soon as possible. The time is running out.

“The message I want to bring to Theresa May is: Please act now. This is the opportunity to leave a lasting legacy, one that will go far beyond your lifetime.”

The Committee on Climate Change recently reported that a 2050 net zero target is necessary to keep temperature rises below 1.5C – a limit that if exceeded, according to the UN, would jeopardise global water and food supplies.