Western Morning News (Saturday)
10 die in latest Myanmar protest
South West has key part to play in the race to net zero, says the CBI’s Susan Davy
MYANMAR’S security forces have shot at least 10 people dead amid ongoing protests against the military’s coup.
The deadly crackdown spurned a UN Security Council appeal for Myanmar’s military rulers to stop using lethal force, while an independent UN expert cited growing evidence of crimes against humanity in the country.
The military also lodged a new allegation against the deposed government leader Aung San Suu Kyi, alleging that in 2017-18 she was illegally given 600,000 US dollars (£429,000) and gold bars worth slightly less by a political ally.
She and Myanmar’s president Win
Myint have been detained on less serious allegations. The new accusation appears aimed at discrediting Ms Suu Kyi and perhaps charging her with a serious crime.
Military spokesman Brig Gen Zaw Min Tun said at a news conference in the capital that former Yangon Division chief minister Phyo Min Thein had admitted giving the money and gold to Ms Suu Kyi, but presented no evidence.
Myanmar has been roiled by protests, strikes and other acts of civil disobedience since the coup toppled Ms Suu Kyi’s government on February 1, just as it was to start its second term.
THE past 12 months have exacted a terrible toll on both our population and our economy – but with vaccine delivery progressing well and a roadmap to reopening now defined, thoughts are rightly turning to recovery. But let’s be clear – recovery has to be about more than regaining lost ground. Instead, we must aim higher.
If the Covid-19 pandemic has delivered one unexpected positive, it has been a chance to reassess. With so much of our traditional activity on hold, we have had an opportunity to take stock, to reevaluate our future and plot a fresh, forward trajectory that truly enables us to build back better.
With the threat of climate change growing by the day, top of the rebuilding agenda must be a renewed commitment to carbon reduction ambitions. The UK has a unique role to play hosting COP26 later this year, and with Cornwall set to host the G7 this June, 2021 offers a remarkable opportunity for the South West to showcase the unique contribution it can make in the race to net zero.
Ours is a region rich in the resources and expertise needed to drive the green revolution. The natural environment delivers boundless potential for renewable energy – wave, wind, tidal and solar – all within touching distance of major ports and infrastructure. Floating offshore wind is a rapidly developing sector primed to make a significant contribution to net zero ambitions while providing a major engineering boost. Both of the region’s powerhouses – The Western Gateway and Great South West – recognise regional opportunities to harness the South West’s natural resources to power up the UK, and deliver inward investment and export potential.
The development of Hinkley Point C nuclear power station provides another example of the power of partnership. It has united LEPs, local authorities, academic and skills sectors with business and will generate around £50 billion of nuclear opportunities over the coming decade.
Industrial and research expertise can cement the UK’s aerospace and automotive industries as a global leader in developing new technology for low carbon and ultra-low emission vehicles. A first Virtual Hydrogen Summit led by the West of England Aerospace Forum can unite regional stakeholders behind a strategy of hydrogen deployment.
The region can also play a key role in bringing the UK up to speed on geothermal heating. Our nation lags on the world stage on geothermal uptake, yet the South West peninsula has strong – but untapped – geothermal resources that could provide viable and affordable lowcarbon heating for everything from homes to hospitals.
And the opportunity exists to go even further. Whether harnessing the potential of upland and wetland peat beds to establish what could be England’s largest carbon sink, utilising offshore habitats to grow kelp and seagrass farms to permanently capture carbon, or building on the expertise of Camborne School of Mines to mine lithium for future batteries, the South West has the resources to help combat the climate emergency.
Yes, there remain challenges. A lack of adequate grid capacity is a glaring one, while distribution networks can be improved. But investment in smart and flexible energy infrastructure can overcome them, and unlock the benefits of electric vehicles and the switch to cleaner forms of heating. This will enable the South West to make the most of its potential as a natural energy powerhouse.
Green technology investment in the region was absent from the Chancellor’s recent Budget announcement, yet the South West should not be deterred. This remains a region with the will and the resources to power the UK. Regional leaders must now move forward with unified purpose to define the region’s future, showcase its strength and attract the investment needed to unlock its full potential.
■ Susan Davy is chair of the CBI South West and CEO of Pennon Group.
Monday: Judi Spiers is coming over all arty decorating a Moor Otter for Dartmoor national park
GETTING back to normal means: arranging a dental appointment, going into town rather than relying on internet shopping, visiting a barber’s when they open, and getting the car serviced.
Boring, boring, boring. What I’d really like to do is go to the pub and get merry with my pals, visit my son in London and jump on an airliner to somewhere exotic and very different.
But life gets in the way. And after a lengthy lockdown, there is plenty of life to get in the way – because it is a central truism in this world that, given any length of time, things either deteriorate, fall to bits, get hungry, or grow out of control.
At my age I am lucky to still have hair to cut, teeth to fix, a car to service and enough money to go into town shopping. When you’re young, older people talk about the importance of “getting one’s priorities right”. I used to think: to hell with that, I’m off out to enjoy myself.
Now, even as a person who’s never really grown up, I can see the sense in getting teeth fixed, straggly hair cut and automobiles serviced (even though the car has hardly been anywhere for months). As for actually going out to buy the things we need rather than relying on the internet, we all now know that real-life activity is far more gratifying than clicking things on a screen.
How pleasant, for example, to dawdle around a street market in a French or Italian town, picking up this or that, sniffing it – having a taste if the smallholder will allow – and slowly filling an old hessian shopping bag with fabulous locally grown or produced goods until you are weary enough to head for a cafe terrace for an espresso, or a restorative beer. A sensory experience. Jostling with colourful crowds in narrow streets amid medieval buildings, hearing swifts squealing overhead in blue skies while catching hints of other people’s lives through snatches of conversation, at the same time as using eyes, nose and tongue to take in the wondrous produce that is already inspiring 100 ideas for lunch.
When, I wonder, will we be doing that again? Alas, it is exactly the sort of scenario which would make Captain Covid rub his germ-ridden hands with glee. Typical! Like alcohol, partying, bacon or cake – the very things we enjoy most turn out to be bad for us. Now even crowded markets are inadvisable.
Next it’ll be the Royal Family. Not that I derive anywhere near as much pleasure from Her Majesty’s tribe as I do from alcohol, partying, bacon, cake or crowded markets, but you get what I mean. A couple more interviews with Meghan and the Windsors will be deemed so politically-incorrect they’ll be banished to some sink-estate where they can fly their England flags and polish their colonialist memorabilia in privacy behind caged doors.
The loneliness of lockdown does encourage bizarre thoughts... “I say Philip! There’s a drug-dealer trying to gain entry!”
“Let him in for a chat, Liz. After all, our East India Company – which built so much of our power and wealth – sold more drugs to more people than any other bunch of narcos in history!”
Don’t say it couldn’t happen. Don’t say anything is too far-fetched or fantastical! We’ve all seen stuff over the past year that in any other 12-month period would have been deemed science-fiction. One of Captain Mainwaring’s regular catchlines in Dad’s Army was: “You’re entering the realms of fantasy Jonesie...” I’ve caught myself muttering it time and again since lockdown. Things have become so odd. I’ve become so odd!
I met a mate in the lane the other evening and I gabbled away with all the communication skills of a navvy who’s sunk three bottles of rum. And I’m meant to be a professional communicator. I wonder how many millions of others have also lost the knack of lightweight conversation this winter?
Actually, I was ranting about Meghan or, rather, the fallout – because another of life’s truisms is that there are always at least two sides to every story. Not any more there aren’t. We live in an increasingly polarised era when people believe in one thing or the other, and nothing in between. There is no nuance. Since the interview vast numbers of mainly younger folk have decided that the Royals are a bunch of racists who hark back to colonial days – while a lot of oldies believe Meghan is out to make waves and have everything her own way.
Everything is posed as something we should argue about, one way or the other. Even the dreadful murder of poor Sarah Everard has ignited debate, over and above the obvious feelings of shock and horror.
I’m not saying debate isn’t a good thing. We should discuss racism and talk about how to make women feel safer in our streets – but we shouldn’t do any of it while carrying a blunderbuss inscribed with the words: “Our stance is the only truth and every other thought is wrong.”
Excuse me if I have a lie-down now, and maybe another month of self-imposed lockdown... Perhaps I’m not ready for this argumentative new world quite yet.
We live in an increasingly polarised era when people believe in only one thing or the other