Climate change could hardly have a higher profile this week as politicians from around the world gather in New York for a United Nations summit on the issue.

Key to achieving any kind of workable solution to deal with the threat posed by global warming will be persuading the business world to buy in to the concept.

And it appears that veteran ecological campaigner Prince Charles has managed to do just that.

He may not fit the traditional image of an environmentalist, but in some circumstances, he is able to use his name to bring greater influence on organisations than pressure groups can manage.

One example of this is the Cambridge University-based Prince of Wales's Corporate Leaders Group on Climate Change, a body made up of business leaders who recognise the threat posed by climate change.

The group has secured the signatures of 500 major international companies, including Shell, British Airways, BP and Coca-Cola, on a communique demanding that world leaders reach an agreement to cut carbon emissions by 50 per cent at December's Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen.

"Economic development will not be sustained in the longer term unless the climate is stabilised. It is critical that we exit this recession in a way that lays the foundation for low-carbon growth and avoids locking us into a high-carbon future," the statement reads.

The statement comes just a day after Tony Blair and The Climate Group released a report detailing how action on climate change could lead to the creation of ten million jobs around the world.

Politicians who continue to use the economy as a reason for not taking the necessary steps to combat global warming are rapidly running out of excuses.