David Levy – COP26 – Oct 21

It would have seemed absurd some time ago that I would have placed myself in the Arnold Schwarzenegger political camp.   Yet today I find myself clearly listening to his environment al advice.

California has for about a decade been following environmental economic decisions, and their net GDP is equivalent to that of Great Britain.   Therefore they have a message to impart to the World.

In Arnold Schwarzenegger’s words, environmental choices make sense and benefit the jobs market and economy in a very clear manner.   “It makes sense to go green”, and I would add: “Not to fuff around at the peripheries but engage with due seriousness and endeavour”.

To give an example: How can incinerators be adopted by Conservative politicians when they are committed to carbon reductions?

That is just one of the decisions being made routinely which contradicts a carbon neutral economy.

Watching the showground antics of the global environmental NGO movement in Glasgow has reminded me of the European Environmental Ministers in OSPAR in 2010 in Bergen, Norway, when at first hand I got to see this ‘NGO Roadshow’ in action.

Those of us who had spent years contributing to the work done by OSPAROSPAR Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic made up of representatives of the Governments of the 15 signatory nations. were taken over by these press hungry headline seekers. As if they had anything of importance to say.   They appeared, made much noise, and then vanished.   Shakespeare put this into words — Struts upon a stage / signifying nothing.

Now I come to COP26. I would request that the World takes note of those who work daily to make good global environmental decisions and who concentrate not on telling others that they are doing wrong, but focus instead on their own backyards and show leadership through example.   Then you can take seriously the experience of people like Arnold Schwarzenegger — try to learn and copy success stories, whilst at the same time adapting best outcomes for others to learn from them.

We have too little time left to reverse the decisions of the past.

David Levy