UK Gov Warns Corporate Sector "Business As Usual" Not A Climate Option

[hatrack]

British industry cannot carry on with "business as usual" and must take action to curb greenhouse emissions, government officials said today. Alan Johnson, the trade and industry secretary, told company executives at a London conference on climate change that they needed to modify their thinking on energy use.

"The smartest companies know already that business as usual isn't an option, and to succeed in a carbon constrained world it makes sense to invest and think differently about their energy use," Mr Johnson said.

The Confederation of British Industry (CBI), the employers' organisation, agreed it had a role to play.

"Business recognises and shares this concern about climate change - not just from an ethical stand, but also because the potential cost of climate change could be highly significant," said John Sunderland, the president of the CBI. Mr Sunderland agreed that government and business must develop practical policies to cut carbon emissions by 60% by 2050.

EDIT

http://www.guardian.co.uk/climatechange/story/0,12374,1585472,00.html