Dunne: Government & Business Must Co-Operate On Climate Change

United Future leader Peter Dunne wants greater government interaction with the business sector on climate change policies.

"We've got to start seeing business as part of the solution, not part of the problem.

"As well as working to build a political consensus on climate change policies, the government needs also to be developing a wider consensus with business about the strategies to be followed.

"In both the United States and Europe, businesses are already either developing their own climate change strategies in advance of government regulation, or working in partnership with governments on energy efficiency programmes or capturing and storing CO2 emissions.

"We need to be doing the same here," he says.

Mr Dunne repeated his call for a multi-party summit on climate change policies to seek agreement between all political parties on the initiatives to be introduced.

"The next step is then to bring business into the loop, to ensure that the government's response is not only politically sustainable but is also sustainable as far as the business community is concerned.

"Climate change policy can only be successfully implemented by consent, not imposed by government fiat.

"The government's role is to build that broad consensus which will give its policy credibility," he says.

Mr Dunne says he detects a strong willingness within the business sector to play a constructive role on climate change, and he welcomes that.

"The bottom line is that an imposed policy response will be resented, and short-lived as a consequence, whereas taking the time now to build a political and business consensus on the actions required will ensure coherent and stable climate change policy into the future," he says.

ENDS

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