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Corporate Leaders Groups

Business leadership for a climate neutral economy
 

24 July 2015 – Today saw the first major speech on climate change made by the Energy and Climate Change Secretary Amber Rudd. Read our initial reaction.

Responding to the Energy and Climate change Secretary’s first major speech on climate change, Eliot Whittington, Deputy Director of The Prince of Wales's Corporate Leaders Group at the Cambridge Institute of Sustainability Leadership commented:

"A long-term climate plan is exactly what we need to secure our economic future. It’s great to hear a senior UK politician being so clear about the links between climate and economic prosperity and security. More and more companies are clear that the impacts of climate change represent a real cost to their business, and that there are huge opportunities for businesses to grow and develop new markets that are low carbon and sustainable.

"However if UK companies are to make the most of those markets and position themselves at the forefront of this growing new economy, we need the clear and stable commitments to action from government. The recent flurry of announcements stepping back from a range of climate-related policies – many of which were quite recently introduced  creates uncertainty about where the UK is going. The challenge now for the UK government is to ensure that, come the international climate negotiations in Paris at the end of the year, there is absolute clarity on how the UK will meet its climate targets."