Anglian Water has lent its voice to the growing cry from business leaders for a new international deal on climate change in advance of the Copenhagen Summit this October.

At a Prince of Wales’s Corporate Leaders Group summit on climate change, Anglian Water’s chief executive, Jonson Cox, spoke about the need for adaptation to climate change and pledged Anglian Water’s commitment to the Copenhagen Communiqué.

The Copenhagen Communiqué will follow on from the previous, successful, Bali and Poznan Communiqués in building momentum in international climate negotiations. It will reinforce the message to governments that businesses such as Anglian Water support a strong and effective international climate change network.

The aim is to gather commitment in the form of more than 500 signatures on the communiqué from the leaders of major companies across the globe.

In his presentation to climate change exponents including The Prince of Wales, Cox said: “The Copenhagen Communiqué is a positive statement of intent and a signal to government that we need strong political leadership in order to maintain our strong and healthy businesses.

“Looking at the projections for climate change it is clear that adaptation is going to be even more important to us. We must adapt to manage with less water in a time when demand is going to be even greater.

“We are in a fortunate position in the UK in that the need for adaptation is well understood and that efforts are being made to prepare and deliver solutions. But the need for adaptation is not isolated to our island. High priority needs to be given to increasing the ability of other countries to adapt to climate change in a way that is sympathetic with sustainable development.”