850+ firms urge Brown to push for ambitious climate deal

Four days before global climate change talks kick off in Copenhagen, more than 850 UK and international companies are urging Prime Minister Gordon Brown to push for an ambitious and equitable deal that can promote sustainable growth, jobs and prosperity.

The organisations are endorsing a communiqué that is being presented to the Prime Minister tonight by the Prince of Wales’ Corporate Leaders Group on Climate Change.

The communiqué sets out the business case for a strong and effective UN climate framework and underlines that economic development will not be sustained unless the climate is stabilised, making it critical that we move beyond the global downturn in a way that lays the foundation for low-carbon growth.

The Corporate Leaders Group includes John Lewis, Shell, Tesco, Kingfisher, Vodafone, Unilever and Lloyds Banking Group. The communiqué has already secured the support of more than 850 companies based in over 50 countries, including the US, most EU member states, Japan, Australia, Canada, Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

“We are committed to securing a comprehensive and ambitious agreement in Copenhagen; an agreement which must mark the decisive global shift towards combating climate change, and I welcome this unprecedented support from business to achieve this,” Brown said. “Our common purpose is our greatest strength as we push for a binding agreement on climate change.”

He added, “Our transition to a low-carbon economy will be a key driver of our future economic prosperity. UK companies are at the forefront of this transformation, their innovation and expertise demonstrates why this is one of best places in the world for low carbon business.

“In next week’s pre-budget report, we will set out our strategy for securing economic recovery and investing in future jobs and growth, especially in those industries that will build the low-carbon economy of the future.”

“It has been extraordinary to see the level of support that has come in from the international business community for the Copenhagen Communiqué –from companies in the developed and developing world, across all sectors, ranging from the world’s largest companies and best-known brands, to small and medium sized enterprises,” said Craig Bennett, co-director of the Prince of Wales’ Corporate Leaders Group, which is based at the University of Cambridge Programme for Sustainability Leadership.

“If it is possible for such a variety of companies to agree on the basic shape of an ambitious, robust and equitable global deal on climate change — surely it should now be possible for the world’s governments to do the same?” Bennett said.

The communiqué presentation will take place as the Prime Minister hosts over 100 companies at an event at Downing Street to showcase how the UK’s low-carbon innovation and partnership are already shaping business for the future economy.

“The world is engaged in a race to low carbon,” said Lord Davies, Minister for Trade, Investment and Small Business. “Acting early will mean we are well positioned in the new industries that are being created, at the forefront of the technological and social shift that will define the next century. The low-carbon transition is therefore everybody’s business and everybody’s opportunity.

“The UK’s lead in this area makes us well-placed to secure new business overseas and act as a global hub for low-carbon products, services and technologies. Government and business are working together to market the UK’s unique strengths and capabilities in this area, in particular the reputation of our universities and companies for world-beating innovation.”

The companies gathering in Downing Street this evening have all embraced the low-carbon economy. They range across all sectors, from those traditionally associated with low carbon, like renewables, to specialists in IT, polymers and manufacturing.

Most are SMEs and almost all are already exporting their low carbon products and know-how, or are on the verge of breaking into new export markets.

The global market for low carbon goods and services is already worth over £3 trillion and is expected to exceed £4.5 trillion by 2015.

The UK market for low-carbon and environmental goods and services is the sixth largest in the world. It is currently worth around £107 billion — over 7 per cent of GDP — and is set to grow by £45 billion by 2015. Manufacturing currently makes up 30.8 per cent of this activity, compared with about 20 per cent in the UK economy as a whole. The market now employs 880,000 people, a figure expected to rise to an estimated 1.2 million by 2015.