Almost 90% of consumers worldwide said they would switch energy providers
to favor companies that offer products and services that help reduce
greenhouse gas emissions, according to a study released Wednesday by
consulting firm Accenture.

The study on consumer behavior and climate change, based on a survey of
more than 7,500 people in 17 countries, found that there is greater concern
about climate change in emerging-market countries. Ninety-eight percent of
respondents in Brazil, China and India said they believe climate change will
directly affect their lives, compared with 73% of respondents in Europe,
Accenture said.

Among all respondents, 89% said they would switch energy providers to
companies that offer reduced carbon-emitting products and services, and 64%
said they would be willing to pay a higher price--or a premium of 11% on
average--for such products and services.

Ninety percent of the respondents said they would have a negative
perception of any energy provider that is not taking concrete action to
address climate change, according to the survey. While more than 80% of
consumers said climate change will have the greatest impact on weather and the
ecosystem, 74% said they believe it will also have a significant effect on
people's health.

Accenture's study on climate change "suggests that while the initial
impact in business terms may be most evident on energy providers, it seems
likely that this impact will increasingly spread to other resources companies
either directly or as the impacts trickle through the supply chain from
consumer-facing businesses," Sander van 't Noordende, group chief executive of
Accenture's resources operating group, said in a statement. "From oil and gas
companies to retailers to financial services companies to governments, no
provider of products or services will be immune from consumers' scrutiny and
action," he said.

--Tom Tiernan, tom_tiernan@platts.com