General Electric has brushed aside the doubts leading Republican presidential contenders have raised about climate science…[GE] said it had long seen climate change as a valid concern after an internal evaluation of the scientific case in 2005. “We found enough data there to have a company like GE respond and we have responded,” said Mark Vachon, head of the “ecomagination” sustainable business initiative GE launched in that year. He said revenues generated by operations in his portfolio now totalled $100bn and were growing at more than twice the rate of those in the rest of the company. GE’s environmental strategy had also helped it shave $140m from its own energy bill and meant “we’re viewed as relevant in the world”, he said.