In a major environmental speech, British Prime Minister Tony Blair announced today that the government would devote about $150 million to the development of renewable energy and other measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and help stave off climate change. Blair pledged to put environmental issues higher up on the political agenda, and he stressed the importance of working with business to make environmental progress. Blair: “We should see protecting the environment as a business opportunity. There is a growing market for environmental goods and services, worth an amazing $335 billion — as large as the world market for pharmaceuticals or aerospace.” British green groups have criticized Blair and the Labour government for failing to take environmental issues seriously, despite campaign pledges to be “the first truly green government ever.”
