Companies need to tackle climate change despite the economic slowdown, the Confederation of British Industry warned today.

CBI director-general Richard Lambert said at the Siemens sustainability conference in London that energy and the environment should be the top long-term priority for all businesses.

He described alternative energy sources as "an economic opportunity on a scale that has not been seen before", and said that technology development will play an important role in tackling the issue.

"We need more investment in carbon capture and storage. The technology needs to be tested at scale and its costs need to be brought down if it is to play any significant role much before 2030," said Lambert.

The CBI is also calling on European policymakers to put the steps in place so that businesses can support the third phase of the EU emissions trading scheme.

The initiative is designed to help tackle climate change by putting an overall cap on carbon emissions.

Other key areas include improving energy efficiency, improving business planning processes in the UK to increase access to low carbon energy, and keeping security of energy supply and economic competitiveness on the climate change agenda.

"The proposals provide a degree of certainty for business planning, show that emissions can be reduced without damaging competitiveness and support the growth of international carbon markets," said Lambert.