Gordon Brown and his senior ministers all committed to cutting their personal carbon emissions today as the entire cabinet signed up to the 10:10 climate change campaign.

The cabinet pledge came as the number of individuals who have signed up to cut their greenhouse gas emissions by 10% in 2010 passed the 10,000 mark.

Climate change secretary Ed Miliband, who had already promised to cut his emissions and those of his department, urged his colleagues to join the Guardian-backed campaign at today's cabinet meeting held on the London Olympics site.

He said: "There was a real sense that this is the right thing to do, and that this has very powerful symbolism, but you've got to put your policy money where your mouth is. David Cameron has a wind turbine on his roof but all round the country Tory councils are turning down wind farms."

The Tory frontbench as well as the Liberal Democrat leader, Nick Clegg, have signed up to the campaign which is aimed at increasing pressure on governments to take strong action ahead of December's crucial summit in Copenhagen.

Last night Franny Armstrong, director of the climate change film Age of Stupid and the 10:10 founder said: "It's amazing that within 48 hours of the campaign's launch, the leaderships of the three main political parties have committed to cut their 10%. Who said people power was dead? These politicians clearly recognise that each person in Britain must start cutting their emissions as part of a national war-effort-scale response to the climate crisis. But ministers have a responsibility far beyond their individual emissions – they must now introduce the policies to ensure Britain cuts its overall emissions by a similar amount."

In a case of art imitating life, Peter Capaldi, the actor who plays the Alastair Campbell figure Malcolm Tucker in The Thick of It was among several thousand people today who pledged to cut their emissions, joining high profile backers including Delia Smith, Colin Firth, Radio One DJ Sara Cox and Nicholas Stern.

In addition to the 10,000 individuals, more than 400 businesses and organisations including charities, schools and hospitals have so far signed up to cut their carbon footprint in 2010. Olympics minister Tessa Jowell said she signed up because 10:10 was a way for Britons to feel more involved in the run-up to the international climate talks in Copenhagen.

"I used to be addicted to my car but even though I have cut back on using it recently, I plan to cut back even more now. At home I want to replace my light bulbs with energy efficient ones and will be turning down my thermostat by a degree as soon as I get back. I will also be thinking very hard before booking more than one private international flight a year."

Health secretary Andy Burnham said: "I'm signing up to the 10:10 campaign because it gives me a chance to really show I can make a difference on a personal level to tackling climate change. Everyone who signs up can be part of a big national effort – all of us pulling together to prevent global warming."

The organisations that have signed up so far range from small charities with a dozen employees to major multinationals with many thousands of people.

The Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre in Buckinghamshire signed up so it could influence its visitors over the coming year. In 2010, the lighting in the museum will be attached to motion and daylight sensors and the heating will be turned down. "People come here because they're inspired by Roald Dahl and we'd like to inspire our 50,000 visitors a year to make some changes in their life too," said director Amelia Foster.