BRUSSELS "When I hear Indian and Chinese politicians talk about climate change I get worried", said Scania's CEO Leif Östling, also criticising the US for being negligent on climate goals.

Several Swedish business leaders gathered Wednesday evening in Brussels to discuss burdens and opportunities in the tracks of climate change. The conference took place in the Centre for fine arts and among the audience were not only the Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt, whose country currently holds the rotating EU presidency, but also the Crown Princess Victoria.   

Before entering the debate Fredrik Reinfeldt pointed out the importance of company leaders when it comes to reaching the climate goals. 

"The business leaders have a crucial role to play meeting the challenges we are facing and there are large opportunities in the green sector", he said. 

The CEO of the Swedish truck giant Scania, Leif Östling, agreed that a lot of money could be saved but he also stressed that the industry all ready have made progress when it comes to dealing with climate change.

"The problem is not business to business, the problem in the EU are the consumers. With many products it's difficult to estimate the energy costs and the consumers always buy the cheapest merchandise", he said.

And he got support from Tom Johnstone, CEO of Swedish ball-bearing manufacturer SKF.

"With consumers it's much more difficult than with companies. We need to make them more aware of the energy costs", he said.

There have been concerns within the EU that other countries will not be as ambitious when fighting climate change and Leif Östling said that many European business leaders are worried. He  himself have been troubled by the attitude among Chinese and Indian politicians but he also wishes to see more from the US.

"I'm worried about the relaxed attitude on taxation in the US. It's amazing what they do there", he said.   

In order to stay on track and reaching the goal of a maximum increase in temperature of two degress Celsius compared to pre-industrial times the business leaders demanded more incentives for green investments rather than stricter regulation.

"I think you look at penalties too often. We in the industry have enough sticks, we need more carrots, said SKF CEO Tom Johnstone. 

They also stressed the importance of keeping the debate alive in order to increase ordinary peoples' awareness of the climate problem which in turn could lead to a greater demand for green products among consumers. 

Prime minister Fredrik Reinfeldt didn't promise any new incentives nor carrots. Rather he encouraged the companies to act.

"There will be both winners and losers among companies. It's up to the companies to choose side", he said.