LONDON, June 6 (UPI) -- Thirteen British business leaders Tuesday implored Prime Minister Tony Blair to impose tougher measures to curb carbon emissions.
In a striking reversal of the usual industry resistance to climate change efforts, leaders from companies such as Shell, Vodafone and Tesco argued that greater restrictions on greenhouse emissions would encourage technological innovation that would advantage British business.
During a visit to Downing Street, the delegation warned that developing countries would never take climate change seriously if industrialized nations such as Britain did not lead the way.
The group, brought together under the Prince of Wales's Business and Environment Program, says climate change must be urgently addressed through tougher regulations on energy-efficient homes and products.
It says that energy-efficiency will make businesses more profitable while taking a lead in clean technologies will increase competitiveness.
Shell U.K. Chairman James Smith told BBC Radio: "I think climate change is a challenge that we all have to step up to and that requires significant measures deploying the technologies that are going to make a difference.
"The thing is that we believe that the technological solutions are within our grasp, although they are at various stages of their development, and what we need to do is muster the common will to put these solutions in place."
Environment Secretary David Miliband said: "The business leaders are saying we have got good policies, we just need to scale them up.
"They are saying that strengthening targets is good for business, not bad."
He acknowledged that the government was "off track" in meeting its target of cutting CO2 emissions by 20 oercent from 1990 levels by 2010. However it would meet the Kyoto Protocol's lower target of reducing greenhouse gases by 10 percent by 2010, he said.
