Environment Secretary David Miliband and Trade and Industry Secretary Alistair Darling will jointly chair a Commission on Environmental Markets and Economic Performance. Members of the Commission will be drawn from business, NGO’s, academia, trade unions and public sector organisations.

It will report to Government next spring, and will make recommendations on how to further stimulate sectors that can make a significant contribution to environmental outcomes and productivity.

The new Commission will be able to draw on the latest figures for the size of the environmental goods and services sector, published today by the joint Defra-DTI funded Environmental Industries Unit. These confirm a current annual turnover for the sector of more than £25 billion (based on 2004 data) and estimate that this will increase to more than £34 billion by 2010 and £46 billion by 2015.

The Commission  will build on the work of the business-led Environmental Innovations Advisory Group (EIAG), which has today published a report on making the UK the best place in the world for environmental innovation.

Mr Miliband said:

“Climate change is a serious threat but also a business opportunity. There are jobs and wealth to be created in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, as there are in tackling other environmental problems.

“This Commission will use its diverse expertise to investigate how the environmental goods and services sector might evolve in this direction in future, and the roles of both Government and business in bringing about that transition.”


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