Environmentalists want a new agreement finalised by 2008 at the latest in order to give investors enough time to adapt to a new Kyoto Protocol, which completes its first cycle in 2012.

Yvo de Boar, the executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, told a conference in the Netherlands: “To guarantee continuity for investments, a post 2012 agreement is urgently needed. At present, the financial resources provided to developing countries do not suffice to meet the needs for mitigation and adaptation as required by the Kyoto protocol.'’

The UN is hopeful the topic will be high on the agenda at next year’s G8 summit taking place in Germany. De Boer added: “I believe that 2007 is the critical year when we have to begin to move forward.”

Richard Burnett, ABN AMRO’s sustainable development director, concurs: “A lot of the technologies we are talking about have economic lives of 15-20-30 years. There is no way people will commit to invest with a scheme that runs out in 2012. That’s why it’s important to take action now. We cannot afford to wait until 2009-2010, otherwise there will be a stagnation in activity that we see now.”