Britain is being accused of being the “dirty man of Europe” after new research showed that, of Europe’s top 300 companies, more than half of those most engaged in carbon-polluting sectors were based in the Britain.
A review of the top 300 companies by ethical investment consultant Eiris found that the greatest proportion of those with “very high impact” in relation to global warming came from Britain, more than double the number from any other country.
Of those companies in the top 300 dedicated to solving or mitigating the problems of climate change, only 3 percent were located in Britain.
Eiris’ findings come at a time when BP, one of Britain’s best-known companies, has attracted bad publicity worldwide over the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
A spokesman for Eiris said that its review was “worrying from a consumer point of view, but also from an investment perspective.”
“It is particularly alarming for pension funds and other long-term investors as climate change rises up the political agenda,” he said.
The greater exposure of UK coporations to risk from climate change largely stems from the number of big oil and mining companies that dominate the FTSE-100 index in London.
Greenpeace said that the Eiris research was a “shameful” indictment of Britain, which had failed to build up a low-carbon business sector despite much political rhetoric.
“It seems Britain is still the dirty man of Europe. These figures will shame the succession of ministers who promised Britain would be at the forefront of developing clean tech,” said Ben Stewart, a spokesman for the environmental campaign group.
“As things stand, our economy is poorly placed to benefit from this century’s inevitable shift to low-carbon industry, while Germany looks well-positioned to gain from first-mover advantage,” he said.
Eiris estimates that 41 percent of the top 300 companies in Europe have a significant impact on global warming.
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