UK Construction Association President: Climate Change Mitigation Will Mean a "Revolutionary Change in Our Society"

Keith Clarke, chair of the UK Construction Industry Council and CEO of the Atkins engineering firm, says that mitigating climate change is "a moral imperative" that will both challenge and offer opportunities to society and the building industry.

Speaking to the Financial Times ("Atkins Likens Climate Change to Industrial Revolution," July 22, 2009), Mr. Clarke said, "It won't be comfortable. It's horrifying, it really is. But it is extremely exciting to think about a change that has so many unpredictable effects. Intellectually it's about exciting as it gets."

The EU mandated major changes in energy efficiency standards. The U.S. is finally beginning to show more interest, at federal level, in this concept.

You can be sure that a successful businessman like Mr. Clarke does not want his company left behind, and that should tell all of us something about the opportunities directly ahead.