CBI WELCOMES EU SUMMIT DEAL ON CLIMATE CHANGE
Commenting on the climate change deal reached today (Friday) by EU leaders in Brussels, the CBI’s Director-General, Richard Lambert, said:
“This is a good deal for business and the environment. It secures an EU-wide cap on greenhouse gas emissions and allocates more money to developing carbon reduction technologies.
“By setting a price for carbon up to 2020, the deal means it will make business sense to invest in carbon reduction.
“Extending the auctioning of carbon permits to more firms will also incentivise low carbon investment, but EU leaders have been unnecessarily cautious here.
“It is vital that Europe continues to send the right signals to the US, India and China about its resolve to tackle climate change – the global economic downturn is no excuse for inaction.
“Today’s deal is a good starting point for governments to argue for a robust international agreement to succeed the Kyoto protocol.”
Commenting on specific support for clean coal technology, Mr Lambert said:
“The extra support agreed for carbon capture and storage will help to get this vital technology up and running.”
12 December, 2008
Notes to Editors:The CBI is the UK's leading business organisation, speaking for some 240,000 businesses that together employ around a third of the private sector workforce. The organisation is also the UK's official business representative in the European Union, which generates more than 50 per cent of regulation affecting British firms.
Media Contact:Stephen Cooke in the CBI Press Office on 020 7395 8239 or out of hours pager on 07623 977854.