It is tempting to think of action against man-made climate change as a little like Fairtrade coffee or organic food — a middle-class indulgence that is fine for the boom years but an avoidable luxury when economic times are hard.
There are plenty of reasons for complacency. There is undeniably a rift among scientists over the detail of climate change, and in particular over the rate at which it is progressing. The individual’s own carbon footprint is relatively small compared with those of industry and transport. And emissions from industry are inevitably tailing off as economic activity slows.
But there are a number of compelling reasons why business should engage with the subject. The first is that it is going to be a huge growth area. As long ago as 2003, Tony Blair pointed to the vast opportunities for UK businesses to become world leaders in new technologies, such as fuel cells, offshore wind and tidal power.
Since then, Drax, Europe’s biggest coal-fired power station and its dirtiest, has announced a £1 billion plan to move to co-generation using biomass as fuel. Nissan is to make lithium-ion batteries at its Sunderland plant from 2012 and has committed to making its Nissan Leaf all-electric car there a year later.
On the Tyne, Clipper Windpower has created the UK’s first major wind farm venture and is constructing a tower and turbine the size of the London Eye to be deployed in the North Sea.
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There is a second, more pragmatic, reason: never underestimate the zeal with which Generation X approaches the subject. Companies that are seen as environmental criminals or foot-draggers will have difficulty in future attracting younger workers.
Some green groups complained that George Osborne’s emergency Budget last week contained barely a mention of the low-carbon economy or climate change. True, but he did pledge to encourage investment in low-carbon technologies with reform of the Climate Change Levy and promised detailed proposals for a green investment bank
There is one aspect of green energy policy that will always be controversial — the need to replace Britain’s ageing fleet of nuclear power stations. But those stations will have to be built, and the greater involvement by Britain plc the better.