"WE need to build back greener and build back better."

These are the words of a Somerset woman who met with MP Jacob Rees-Mogg last week to campaign for more electric vehicle (EV) charging points at supermarkets.

Sue Peachey never thought too much about saving the environment until she took part in the Climate Assembly last year.

The Climate Assembly brought 108 people from across the UK together to examine the question: 'How should the UK meet its target of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050?'

Sue, who is from Batheaston, also starred in a BBC iPlayer documentary called The People vs Climate Change, which tracks her journey after the Climate Assembly when Sue was inspired to make greener lifestyle changes.

She brought her own EV and then decided to become a parish councillor of Batheaston Parish Council to see what differences she could make in the area.

"When were were given all the information and figures at the Climate Assembly and you can quite clearly see that in the last 50 years, the world is getting warmer," said Sue.

"I know this isn’t going to be benefit me, but what are we going to leave our future generations?

"We have got to do something for the kids of today and tomorrow.

"One of the first things we recognized was that education is the most important thing.

"We need to make people aware of all the things I have been made aware of.

"We need to start changing now, because of the pandemic, things have gone awry a people and people’s lives have become more important."

And so Sue's first mission is to increase the amount of EV charging points.

Sue brought her own electric car after the Climate Assembly, but said she has found there is definitely a lack of charging points in the UK - especially at her favourite supermarket, Sainsburys.

"I am lucky that I can charge my car at home, but when I go on a trip to Devon or something because the first charger isn’t working and you need to know where the next one is," she added.

"At the moment, people haven’t got the confidence of owning an electric vehicle, because not everybody will be able to charge at home.

"Most people will charge at the supermarkets when they do their weekly shop. And they’ve got garages at the supermarkets, so why haven’t they got EV charging points?

"I would shop in Sainsburys, but I have to go Morrisons so I can charge my car while I shop.

"I am hoping Sainsbury’s will realise they are trailing behind most other supermarkets and hopefully they will sort it out."

Sue met Mr Rees-Mogg at Sainsburys in Midsomer Norton on Friday (July 2) to campaign about the issue - asking the supermarket giant to 'step up' and commit to installing charging points at every supermarket car park in Bath and North East Somerset by 2025.

A spokesperson for Sainsbury's said they have 'ambitious plans' for their next generation charging points at the stores.

"We're actively encouraging our customers to make choices which are better for the planet and we are committed to playing our part to tackle the global climate crisis," the spokesperson added.

"We are also proud to be working with the government on this as the Principal Supermarket Partner for COP 26 in Glasgow in November.

"We understand many of our customers want to use electric vehicle charging points and we have 100 available at our stores.

"We have ambitious plans for our next generation charging points and we’re contacting Sue and Mr Rees-Mogg to reassure of them of this and we will keep them, our colleagues and customers updated.”

To sign the campaign visit startafire.co/suepeachey/sainsburys/ev-charging-points.