If an agreement is reached in Copenhagen, it will lay the basis for a profound change as industrialised countries shift from high carbon to low carbon economies.

This can be the foundation for a second industrial revolution. The first was driven by the energy sources of the time – steam, coal, oil and gas. These in turn drove much of the technologies and inventions of the twentieth century.

This new transition will not be overnight and of course high carbon energy sources will be with us for some time but greener ones, and greener ways of using traditional ones like carbon capture and storage, will become increasingly important.

And it’s not just about power generation but the cars people drive and the homes and workplaces we build and occupy. Services too will increasingly market themselves on the basis of their low carbon appeal.

There are tremendous opportunities in this for an economy like the UK’s, strong in research and scientific expertise, with an entrepreneurial spirit and a government committed to industrial activism.

So part of our commitment on climate change must be an industrial and employment commitment that vows Britain will make the most of the transition to a low carbon economy.

That is why we have published our Low Carbon Industrial Strategy, making clear our priorities for action and support: investment of up to £240m in wind and marine power, an additional £30m in low carbon vehicles on top of the existing £400m, as well as tax relief on the purchase of electric vans and cars for businesses. It is why we have established the Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Centre in Sheffield – a facility that will help UK-based firms reach the standards required to supply components to the nuclear industry.

Not every technology will be successful and no nation will excel at all things, but if we don’t have an active industrial strategy at this early stage in the development of these new technologies, the likelihood is they will be developed and produced elsewhere and the transition becomes something that happens to us rather than something we shape for ourselves.

The other half of the story must be to equip our population to do the jobs these technologies will bring. That means giving people the right skills to make opportunity real as the low carbon shift gathers pace.

Think of the power a vision for a low carbon economy will have if with it comes a real chance to do new and interesting jobs, to make new products, to develop new vehicles and to build real expertise in low carbon services.

The market alone will not do it. It will require active government to ensure Britain succeeds in this change and our ambition must also be to ensure a fair distribution of the costs and benefits of the transition.

Today the Government brings together trade union, business and consumer voices to work with us in a new Forum for a Just Transition. Its job is to help us ensure that everyone has a stake in the low carbon economy the opportunities it brings.

Without this commitment to a just transition, there is a danger that responding to climate change can become abstract or an issue for the elite, driven simply by a commitment to change individual behaviour. With it, it can become a huge new industrial and employment opportunity for the country, one that cherishes the planet and gives people a real stake in a greener future.

Copenhagen is not just about the percentages and the targets, critical though these are. It’s also about the jobs and industries of the future.