An alliance of businesses and investors has sent a letter to the UK Government and European Commission, calling on them to prioritise climate and energy in the Brexit negotiations and to develop an ambitious agreement which is in line with the Paris Agreement on climate change. You may download a copy of the letter of read its content below
Dear Mr Barnier and Mr Davis,
20 April 2018
As leading European and UK companies and investors, we recognise that climate change poses one of the greatest long-term threats to our economies and societies. We strongly urge both the UK and EU27 to commit to continuing to work together to meet the commitments set out in the Paris Agreement, in any future relationship.
To ensure this is achieved, we call on you, in the Brexit negotiations, to develop a comprehensive Climate and Energy Chapter, which covers both trade and non-trade issues.
The integration of energy markets and climate policies across Europe has enhanced energy and climate security and reduced energy bills in the UK and the EU 27. The Brexit negotiations should aim to ensure that these benefits continue in the future.
We welcome the intention for prioritisation of security and defence in the negotiations and also urge you to expand this commitment to combatting climate change.
This will help to ensure our climate and energy security is protected, it will foster innovation and economic growth and it will help ensure the EU and UK remain leaders in the global battle against climate change.
Yours Sincerely,
Steve Waygood
Aviva, Chief Responsible Investment Officer
Peter Simpson
CEO, Anglian Water
Will Gardiner
CEO, Drax Group
Lawrence Slade
CEO, Energy UK
Neil Brown
Senior Partner, Earth Capital Partners
Nigel Stansfield
CEO, Interface
Paul Coffey
CEO, Npower, UK Chair of Innogy
Hugh McNeil
CEO, Renewable-UK
Alistair Phillips-Davies
CEO, SSE
Giles Dickson
CEO, WindEurope
Vincent Dufour
Group's Senior Vice President, European Affairs, EDF
Michael Lewis
CEO, E.ON UK
Stephanie Pfeifer
CEO, Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC)
G.E.M. (Gerald) Cartigny
Chief Investment Officer (CIO), MN
Eliot Whittington
Director (acting), The Prince of Wales's Corporate Leaders Group (CLG)
Tom Glover
UK Country Chair, RWE
George Latham
Managing Partner, WHEB
CC.
EU
Miguel Arias Cañete, EU Commissioner for Climate Action & Energy
Maroš Šefčovič, Vice-President of the European Commission
Guy Verhofstadt, European Parliament's representative in the Brexit negotiations Coreper I and II Ambassadors
UK
Rt Hon Greg Clark MP, Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Rt Hon Claire Perry MP, Minister of State for Energy and Clean Growth
Rt Hon Philip Hammond MP, Chancellor of the Exchequer
Oliver Robbins, No10
Alex Chisholm, BEIS
Philipp Rycroft, DExEU
Tom Scholar, HMT
Please send responses to:
EU
Jonathan Gaventa, Director, E3G 23 Rue de la Science Wetenschapsstraat 23
Brussels, 1040
Belgium
UK
Ed Matthew, Associate Director, E3G 47 Great Guildford Street
London, SE1 0ES
United Kingdom