Monday 9 March 2020
Top corporates call on Prime Minister to demonstrate climate leadership
Top corporate firms including Unilever, Anglian Water, EDF, Tesco, Sky, Coca-Cola European Partners have called on Prime Minister Boris Johnson to demonstrate strong climate leadership with a clear government strategy.
The businesses, which form the Prince of Wales's Corporate Leaders Group (CLG), have said present action on climate change is insufficient to protect the environment and "allow for a prosperous future" and have stressed the government must engage all parts of society to change this.
The CLG says the scale and pace of change must be stepped up across a number of carbon-intensive sectors, including buildings, transport, electricity, industry, land use and agriculture.
It notes this should be achieved by accelerating the decarbonisation of power and setting out a clear vision for UK power generation to provide for increased demand as other parts of the economy electrify.
It also calls for a joined-up strategy for UK domestic transport to be set out as well as for new standards and support to ensure UK homes are made more energy efficient to be implemented.
The group suggests the government must also seize the opportunity of the new Environment and Agriculture Bills to create and implement a "new, holistic vision" for UK agriculture and land use which actively supports carbon sequestration and biodiversity recovery alongside other goals, alongside targeted innovation to help decarbonise hard-to-abate industrial sectors
CLG Director Eliot Whittington said: "CLG business leaders are issuing a call to Prime Minister Johnson and his government to deliver a clear UK strategy for accelerating climate action. There is an urgent need for strong and robust leadership that can draw all parts of society and politics together to address the climate crisis.
"This year offers us a chance to translate the UK's powerful track record on climate action into effective policies that can guide the country to net zero by 2050 at the latest. Business's role in encouraging creativity and innovation to support transformation is evident and CLG intends to redouble our efforts to support the delivery of a climate-neutral economy."
