Businesses will spend about £1.6bn between now and 2012 on buying carbon permits, according to estimates from the CBI employers' body, which yesterday called for the government to spend the sum on environmental initiatives. The money is likely to come mainly from electricity companies, which will be forced to buy at auction some of the carbon permits they need under the European Union's emissions trading scheme. The CBI, backed by the environmental group WWF, urged the government to earmark the funds for projects to cut greenhouse gas emissions. Fiona Harvey