82% of boards don't have a climate change strategy

Research carried out by YouGovStone on behalf of the KPMG Carbon Advisory Group revealed that many business leaders were struggling with the issue and how their firms should respond.

The results also revealed that an increasing number of UK executives, did not think the Government was doing enough to educate business on how to tackle climate change. In the last six months the number of people sharing this view jumped from 42% to 58%.

Richard Sharman, partner and head of KPMG’s Carbon Advisory Group said: "Business is looking for improved communication and a clear regulatory framework from the Government to provide certainty so that they know where to focus their emission saving efforts.

"Any significant investment in new carbon efficient business practices or energy saving technology is unlikely to go ahead until they fully understand the impact of regulation."

The results also confirmed that climate change had failed to make it on to the board agenda of a third (34%) of those questioned. A fifth (21%) stated that it was not likely to be become something discussed at board level in the near future.