ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews the response of business to climate change, noting that the range of responses provides opportunities for environmentalists to build coalitions that can promote effective solutions. A key point to note about business is that it does not represent a homogeneous and undifferentiated set of interests and perspectives. Olson’s Logic of Collective Action ‘challenged the view . . . that a unified business class dominates politics in capitalist society’ (Hart 2010: 176). Different sectors of the economy have different interests, while the stance of a particular firm may be influenced by its culture or even the priorities of the chief executive officer. These differences are particularly marked in the case of climate change. For some firms, particularly in fossil fuels, tackling climate change can be seen to represent a major threat to their business. For other firms, for example those firms operating in renewables, mitigating climate change represents a business opportunity. The outcome of the 2015 Paris climate conference (COP21) could be seen as a major encouragement to invest in low-carbon technologies. These divisions mean that environmental non-governmental organizations (ENGOs) find it easier to agree on goals than business as Chapter 15 argues. One report by consultants Mercer shows a considerable divergence in the impact of climate change on returns by industry sector (although clearly the figures are sensitive to the extent of climate change). Over a 35 year period, returns from renewables could increase by 3.5 per cent a year and from nuclear by 1.8 per cent a year. Utilities could see a 2.5 per cent decline in annual returns, increasing to 4.1 per cent for oil and 4.9 per cent for coal (Mercer 2015). These divergences provide opportunities for NGOs to build coalitions with some parts of business and to inflict reputational damage on others who seek to resist efforts at climate change mitigation. As Weale (1992: 31) notes, ‘a cleavage begins to open up not between business and environmentalists, but between progressive, environmentally aware business and short-term profit takers on the other’. Another distinction that has been made is between ‘evangelicals’ and ‘sustainability capitalists’.
