Treaty of Lisbon (No. 8)

The straight answer to my hon. Friend's point is that that was what the Council of Ministers was able to reach agreement on in the end. However, I am not sure that I agree that commerce will always trump conservation. In the development of our understanding of dangerous climate change, it is striking that the business community gets it, too. Even in the relatively short time that I have been in this job, I have seen the CBI taskforce report and listened to business people from around the world, especially from the UK and Europe. I pay tribute to Nick Stern, because if one was to put a finger on one bit of work that has done more than any other to change attitudes in the business community and broader society, it would be his fantastic report. He said very simply, ““If you don't get the moral case and you're not wholly persuaded by the science, just have a look at the numbers.”” People who understand numbers for a living can see that a case is being made when someone says, ““Given a choice between a low cost and a much higher one, which do you fancy pursuing?””