Tackling climate change : The CBI pulls British industry forward in its wake
The CBI (the confederation of British industry), the equivalent of the MEDEF in France has involved itself in combating climate change by establishing a working group (bringing together 18 big businesses that represent 2 million workers) to work on creating a response to the urgency of this phenomenon and to raise consciousness about this national priority amongst all businesses, consumers and the government.
The group supports the « Climate Change Bill » (which will result in a law on Climate Change in Britain) and works particularly on legally binding obligations and carbon reduction.
This Climate Change law aims for a reduction of 60% in emissions between now and 2050 and between 26% and 32% on the horizon for 2020. The group in charge of this question at CBI presented their response to this bill to businesses and published a report that stated that the target emissions reduction in CO2 by 2020 in Britain would probably be unachievable, but that the objectives for 2050, though ambitious, could be met with the right financial investment.
This report represents a series of measures proposing a national effort in the emissions reduction of greenhouse gases. To meet these targets, there will be a need to develop products and services allowing individuals to reduce personal production of carbon dioxide (CO2), the development of a system in which people can exchange ‘CO2 credits’ (a system that has already been put in place on a European level, but still excludes certain activities, such as aviation) and/or the development of low-emissions-producing energy such as wind power and nuclear.
CBI’s report demonstrates that businesses must fundamentally change their economic paradigms to respond to growing consumer and society concerns over climate change. The longer we wait, the higher the price, was the message sent by Ben Verwaayen, president of this commission, to businesses, driven by their economic stakes "We must inform consumers and help them to make the right choices. This is not just a challenge but a unique opportunity to become leaders in carbon reduction". HP and Barclays signed a statement of intent saying that DSC (Dynamic Smart Cooling) technology would be a guiding principle at Barclays data centre in Britain, that recently moved to Gloucester. DSC should permit Barclays to economise up to 13,4% of the total energy used to run its data centre and reduce its carbon footprint by about 7470 tons of CO2 year on year.
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