Business leaders have presented the new global 3C (Combating Climate Change) initiative to the president of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso, demanding an integration of climate issues into the world of markets and trade.
The initiative was presented by a delegation including the chief executives of Vattenfall, Lars G Josefsson, and Enel, Fulvio Conti,
Josefsson said: “Instead of being pulled by society, business leaders should be pushing and in a positive way integrate climate change issues into the world of markets and trade on a global scale. The positive response from companies around the globe to the 3C initiative clearly proves that this is possible.”
Companies which have so far joined include ABB, Alstom, Duke Energy, Endesa, Enel, EnBW, E.ON, Eskom, General Electric, NRG Energy. PG&E Corp, Siemens, Suez and Vattenfall.
The development comes as Enel announces its intention to invest €4 billion focusing on renewable energy, energy efficiency and research on zero emissions.
The five year investment plan aims to generate power cost-effectively while avoiding 4 million tonnes of CO2 each year once fully implemented, the company says.
Of the investment, the bulk is to go on renewables, with €3.3 billion on new capacity to develop an additional 1,700 MW over five years. A further €200 million will go on innovative projects such as the Archimede solar plant to be set up in co-operation with ENEA, and on bio-mass and bio-fuels.
Energy efficiency and distributed generation will account for a further €270 million.
More information on the 3C initiative may be found at www.combatclimatechange.org
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