More than 2,000 business leaders from around the UK have signed an open letter urging the Prime Minister to do more to protect nature and the climate, arguing it is critical for the UK to regain its “global climate leader status”.
The letter, which was hand-delivered to Number 10 Downing Street yesterday from representatives of the Business Declares campaign group ahead of the start of this week’s COP28 Climate Summit in Dubai, calls on the government to rapidly scale up investment and incentives in support of renewables project, end new fossil fuel developments, and ramp up efforts to protect and restore nature.
“Sustainable business is better business – both socially and in terms of revenue,” the letter states. “To maintain a thriving sector that meets societies needs, we need the government to provide a long-term vision, clear policies and a roadmap for a transition. This will enable us to gather resources for any required investment, and train up a workforce to do what’s needed to ensure we remain a successful, investable, and stable business environment in the near future.”
The appeal has been backed by Dragon’s Den investor Deborah Meaden, former Unilever boss Paul Polman, Ecotricity boss Dale Vince, and TV naturalist Chris Packham, as well as top executives at hundreds of businesses including Triodos Bank, WHEB Asset Management, Tribe Impact Capital, Riverford, COOK Food, and Café Direct.
The open letter follows a demonstration which took place on 15 September in central London, which saw hundreds of business leaders join a “queue for climate and nature” on the Millenium Bridge to protest the government’s dilution of several key net zero policies.
“Responsible businesses can’t take on climate change alone,” said Nick Martell-Bundock, head of purpose at Café Direct. “We need ambitious government leadership, so everyone plays by the same rules. And it’s not just business demanding it – our coffee farmers and customers are too.”
Zoe Ruthven, director of marketing and communications at Triodos, said the “broad coalition of businesses” that had supported the campaign was a “powerful representation of the appetite for change”.
“We will not achieve a greener future without coordinated and urgent action from our government,” she said. “Only a truly collective effort can turn current anxiety about the future into something more hopeful.”
The letter was delivered as Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his newly appointed Foreign Secretary David Cameron prepare to head to COP28 Climate Summit in Dubai. They will be joined at the UN climate talks by Energy Secretary Claire Coutinho and climate minister Graham Stuart, who is the official head of the UK COP delegation.
It was released on the same day as former Cabinet Minister and COP26 President Alok Sharma accused the government of jeopardising the UK’s position as a global leader on climate action through its recent attacks on net zero policies.
Speaking to The Times, Sharma warned the government’s controversial decision to issue more oil and gas licenses in the North Sea risked undermining the UK’s negotiating position at the Dubai Summit. “If we’re seen to sort of pull back [on curbing fossil fuels], I think it gives license to others to do the same and ultimately we all lose,” he said. “One of the key messages that I would like in the Prime Minister’s speech at COP28 is that he’s unequivocally backing the call for the phase out of fossil fuels.”
In related news, the CBI will today publish a new Business Manifesto designed to catalyse growth in the UK’s flat-lining economy, which includes fresh calls for Ministers to deliver a new Net Zero Investment Plan.
The government has in recent days published a new Battery Strategy and announced plans to provide £4.5bn of funding to advanced manufacturing industries, including clean tech sectors, over the course of the next Parliament. But business leaders have warned a more ambitious policy and funding programme is needed to tackle the risk of green investment migrating to the US and EU to take advantage of new clean tech subsidy programmes.
“With global instability showing little signs of abating, businesses across the UK are facing a myriad of challenges ahead of the next election,” said CBI chief executive Rain Newton Smith. “The UK economy needs to shift gears from short-term shock absorption to taking the long-term decisions needed to unlock its true potential.
“To achieve that requires bold decisions made in the national economic interest. The good news is that there is an emerging consensus uniting politicians and industry about what that looks like: the need to deliver sustainable growth that improves our prosperity and wellbeing. We’re calling on the next government to show leadership through a reliable a long-term strategy that boosts our competitiveness, addresses labour shortages, honours our climate commitments, prioritises innovation and renews the partnership between business and government.”
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