The leaders of a group of major Canadian corporations have called for urgent action on climate change, a major reversal of the business community's position on the Kyoto protocol.

In a letter to the Prime Minister, the heads of Alcan, Bombardier, Shell Canada, Falconbridge, Home Depot Canada and Desjardins Group, among others, said Canada needs a 50-year strategy to deal with the fallout from climate change.

The letter, obtained by the Canadian Press, calls for a plan that goes well beyond the 2008-2012 timetable laid out in the Kyoto protocol.

(CP file Photo / Adrian Wyld)

"As corporate leaders representing a broad cross-section of the Canadian economy, we believe that all governments, corporations, consumers and citizens have responsibilities under the Kyoto protocol," the letter says.

"The world must act urgently to stabilize the accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and minimize the global impacts of climate change."

The executives said they accept the consensus view of a UN panel that climate change elevates the risk to human health and to the environment.

"We note that Canada is particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change," they said.

The letter is a stark contrast to earlier comments by some business leaders. In 2002, businesses banded together to fight Kyoto.

• RELATED STORY: Canadian business bashes Kyoto as destructive