FDBusiness.com

Paul Bulcke, chief executive of Nestle, supports the move to drive the European Union to toughen greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets. In a signed letter together with 26 business leaders from companies across Europe – published by The Financial Times, Le Monde and Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung – EU ministers are urged to push for increased carbon-cutting targets.

The letter is in response to an article published in the same newspapers in which the climate change ministers; Chris Huhne, for the UK, Dr Norbert Rottgen, for Germany and Jean-Louis Borloo for France set out the economic benefits for increasing Europe’s climate change targets for 2020 from 20% to a harsher 30% goal.

Paul Bulcke, chief executive of Nestle.

The 27 chief executives and chair persons argue: “By moving to a higher target, the EU will have a direct impact on the carbon price through to 2020 and deliver the economic signals that companies need if they are to continue investing billions of Euros in low carbon products, services, technologies and infrastructure.  European leadership will also help rebuild the international momentum towards an ambitious, robust and equitable global deal on climate change.”

The letters concludes: “The EU’s future competitive advantage lies in encouraging and enabling its businesses to help drive the transformational change that will occur in the world economy within the next couple of decades, not to hide from it.”

The letter is an initiative of The University of Cambridge Programme for Sustainability Leadership (CPSL) which works with business, government and civil society to help leaders address critical global challenges.