G7 Summit will launch Westcountry on course for bright future

IF there is a better way than hosting the G7 Summit to help the hard-hit Westcountry and its beleagured hospitality businesses start the re-building process after coronavirus then we would like to know what it is.

With a recently installed US president in Joe Biden on the guest list and the Prime Ministers and Presidents from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the EU coming too, the eyes of the world will be on Cornwall for three days in June.

The back of an envelope value to the Cornish economy of the Summit – which will also welcome as guests the leaders of Australia, India and

South Korea – is £50m. Yet the true worth of the exposure it should bring will be priceless.

It is difficult to say where we will be in the battle against coronavirus by June but the fact that the UK government is pressing ahead with the Summit demonstrates its confidence that things will be sufficiently back to normal for the event to go ahead safely. For those concerned about such an event taking place in Cornwall – and there will be some – the Government is promising “contingencies” will be in place.

You can be sure, with such a high profile list of international leaders, they will be significant.

With any event such as this, the value comes both from the lead up and the three day Summit itself but also from the legacy. The Government has promised it will work with Cornish leaders and institutions to make sure the benefits continue to be felt after the global leaders and their entourages have departed.

There are good reasons for choosing Cornwall to host this event, just about the most prestigious gathering anywhere on the planet in 2021. The focus of the world, as it comes out of the coronavirus pandemic, will be on tackling climate change and reversing environmental degredation.

Cornwall – indeed the whole Westcountry – is poised to be a world leader in a range of environmentallyfriendly energy generating projects and other green initiatives.

From mining the metals needed to fuel the electric vehicles set to dominate the world in future decades to managing the landscape in a way that produces world-class food in a beautiful and protected environment, Cornwall is leading the way.

To date the county and neighbouring Devon have failed to fully realise the potential of offshore wind energy, thermal power from deep under the earth and modern metals mining.

But that is beginning to change and hosting the G7, at which vital environmental issues are sure to be discussed, will prove the catalyst for further progress to be made.

Traditionally the sleepy South West is not somewhere that springs to mind when international summits of world leaders are being planned. It is going to take some getting used to, as we prepare, in the months ahead, for such an exciting and important event to take place in our region.

But we had better get used to it. The Westcountry’s time is coming and this Summit will be the key to open the door to a brighter future.