Last week the G7 was held in Carbis Bay. Despite the concerns about congestion, in the end the area affected was largely limited to Carbis Bay itself. There had also been concerns about violent protest but, in the end, while there were plenty of activists making their point it was generally done in a good-natured Cornish way. In closing the summit the Prime Minister gave a statement outlining achievements of the Summit, including important work on preventing a global pandemic happening again, addressing climate change, and supporting education around the world – working together to build back better, creating jobs and ensuring long-term economic growth.
Many of the biggest issues we face as a nation are faced internationally and the G7 Summit, provided world leaders with the opportunity to act together. Some of the landmark agreements include: pledging more than one billion coronavirus vaccine doses – including 100 million from the UK, to the world’s poorest countries; agreeing to get 40 million more girls into school and 20 million more reading by the end of primary school in the next five years; and agreeing a shared global agenda for tackling issues such as climate change and pollution.
For Cornwall, it was a great opportunity to raise our profile on the world stage, to showcase some of the world leading work we do on renewable energy as well as great assets like the Eden project. There were lots of other local initiatives taking place alongside the main summit. On Thursday, I visited Gwinear Primary school where I met with the owners of the Redruth-based Mitchell & Webber Oil Company. Michell & Webber are working to on a new trailing a new renewable liquid fuel, known as Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO). As part of this process they have trialled the system with Gwinear Primary School by replacing their old fossil fuel system to help demonstrate the viability of the new, renewable biofuel. It is vital that we look to new, greener technologies to heat our homes if we are going to be able to stay on track to hit net-zero by 2050 but this is a challenge in rural areas which often rely on oil boilers. Finding a way to allow them to convert their boilers at reasonable cost to a fuel with a lower carbon footprint may well be part of the solution in the medium term.
I also opened the Global Offshore Wind (FLOW) Conference in Falmouth on Friday. From this it became apparent that there are at least 5 offshore wind project developers now active in our region. What was also encouraging, in the Conference run up, is the turn round of the Wave Hub project in my constituency. There have been some challenges trying to deploy wave power in recent years but it is now set to become the Celtic Sea’s first floating offshore wind (FLOW) array after the project diversified in recent years utilising its existing infrastructure for the deployment of FLOW.
Finally, I visited Mutton Cove at Godrevy to meet some of the volunteers involved in some nationally significant work being done on seal conservation. There has been a lot of effort going in to reducing disturbance of seals with new information boards for the public. I also visited the World Parrot Trust at Paradise Park to hear more about some of the policy ideas they have on tackling the illegal trade in endangered species of parrot and some of the problems associated with social media which makes it easier for illegal traders to find buyers.
Overall, for me the G7 represented a powerful opportunity for the UK to show the world what we can do but it was only a three day event and, of course, the important work that everyone is doing to address the challenges the world faces must continue and the things that were pledged must now be delivered.
