The relationship between climate change and company performance is becoming clearer, according to the Carbon Disclosure Project. Last year, the project, which researches the economic impact of corporate greenhouse gas emissions on behalf of nearly 100 global institutional investors, wrote to the world's largest 500 companies asking for information on the risks and opportunities posed by climate change.

Investment in low-carbon technology has quadrupled to $2.5bn (€2.1bn) in the past two years, according to the project. "More firms consider climate change to present risks and opportunities to their business. Corporate climate strategies are becoming more coherent and comprehensive, and many firms have established multi-disciplinary teams to manage climate risk," said the project's report.