Environmentalists welcome PMs green economy

The British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, has outlined to business leaders the need for the UK to seize the opportunities of the transition to a low carbon economy.

The Aldersgate group, a coalition of businesses and environmental groups, has supported the Prime Minister's vision for the green economy, which he described as the 'fourth technological revolution' of our time.’

Brown was outlining the government's response to the Commission for Environmental Markets and Economic Performance (CEMEP) that he himself set up in the wake of the Stern Review, which examined what the UK had to do to ensure that it was in the best possible position to seize the new opportunities of the transformation.

The Prime Minister outlined four key objectives:

Establish a long-term framework with clear, credible and long-term environmental goals.

Create the conditions for innovation.

Develop the necessary skills needed to support sustainable growth and become a world leader.

Building partnerships between businesses, consumers and the Government, so that all sectors play their part.

The Aldersgate group said every one of CEMEP's 24 recommendations had been taken forward.

Peter Young, a Commissioner on CEMEP and Chairman of the Aldersgate Group said: ‘Gordon Brown today turned the myth that you can’t be green and grow on its head. The quicker we move the UK into a low carbon economy, the more competitive we will be and the more employment we will create. We must act now to seize the jobs of the future and gain an advantage in a fiercely competitive market.’