A sustainable lifestyle was on the agenda for the NI Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness this week as he joined well known TV scientist, Professor David Bellamy to launch 'Eco-World', at the Odysseys W5 in Belfast.

The new interactive resource aims to demonstrate to young people the benefits of living just such a sustainable lifestyle.

Devised by the Consumer Council and the CCEA, (the educational standards authority) 'Ecoworld' is an interactive 3D game that allows young people to learn about energy, water, food, transport and waste.

Speaking at the launch, Mr McGuinness said: "I am delighted to be able to support this venture which shows young people the benefits of living a sustainable lifestyle and the impact that their actions can have on both the local and global community.

"Future generations will be able to enjoy the planet, as we do today, if we lend our support to promoting long–term changes in attitude and behaviour to better manage our natural resources and encourage responsible and informed decisions that allow us to live our lives today without compromising and limiting the choices of future generations."

Commenting on the Executive's commitment to sustainable development he added: "By incorporating sustainable development as a cross-cutting theme in our Programme for Government the Executive is demonstrating its commitment to delivering a more sustainable future for all our people.

"This clearly and unambiguously moves sustainability in to the spotlight and makes us all focus on how we can best achieve the delivery of a sustainable future through our economic, social and environmental policies and programmes.

"The Executive aims to ensure that the principles of sustainable development underpin all its decision-making processes in order to ensure its objectives of a peaceful, fair and prosperous society’ and the growth of a dynamic, innovative economy," he said.

(JM)(BMcC)