#Conservatives 'are truly the best conservationists'

European politicians and policymakers, academics, media and the business community debated the role of free-market and innovation in resolving environmental issues at Solvay Library on 24 May. The lively debates were hosted by the Alliance of Conservatives and Reformists in Europe (ACRE) under the framework of their second Blue-Green Summit. Speakers focussed on two main topics of discussion: trusteeship and innovation.

Blue-Green Summit II was also an opportunity for Prof. Hannes Gissurarson from the University of Iceland to launch his newest study on Green Capitalism: How to protect the environment by defining private property rights. ACRE’s Summit was the perfect platform for him to highlight how the mechanisms of the free market can be used to solve or at least reduce environmental problems, such depletion of natural resources, pollution and possible extinction of valuable species.

The debate kicked-off with a keynote address from Sir Roger Scruton, one of the leading conservative thinkers today. A firm believer of the power of conservatives to preserve for future generations, Sir Roger stressed that the essence of conservatism was to believe that civil societies and private citizens would find solutions to tackle the current issues only within a free-market environment. The conservative movement has the right approach, which is to invest in innovation and research.

The same idea was reiterated by Debbie Dooley, Tea Party Movement co-founder and president of Conservatives for Energy Freedom. The environmental activist pointed out that solutions will not be created thanks to excessive regulations or the mandate of the governments, but it should be based on individual liberty, innovation and free market. She further explained that the government should foster the environment incentivizing innovations and competition.

Dato’ Lee Yeow Chor, chairman of the Malaysian Palm Oil Council continued on the same line of thought and described the major role palm oil industry has in this era of renewable energy. The palm oil industry created several success stories in developing countries and has improved the life of thousands of farmers. While private sectors reinvested millions in new technology and innovation, he warned governments, mainly those in Europe, to not impose excessive regulations on palm oil as it could discourage entrepreneurs and industrials to invest and innovate.

The panel on Trusteeship brought together Nick Wood-Dow, founder of the Tory Green Initiative, Sam Hall, head of research at Bright Blue (UK), Dato’ Lee Yeow Chor, chairman of the Malaysian Palm Oil Council and András Inotai, senior advisor to Environment Commissioner Karmenu Vella. Nick Wood-Dow started by stressing the importance of keeping environmental projects and initiatives alive after Brexit. While conservatives make the best conservationists, Nick Wood-Dow illustrated his point by shedding the light on Margaret Thatcher’s long term plans to stimulate UK economy and involvement in environmental initiatives. Sam Hall agreed and added that solutions to environmental problems was innovation. Dato’ Lee Yeow Chor gave concrete example on how states’ intervention could undermine the creation of solutions. Finally, András Inotai reiterated that EU policies not only protect citizens but also benefit businesses. He emphasized that impact assessments attempt to assess all potential consequences on businesses to avoid unintended results.

Adina-Ioana Vălean MEP, chairwoman of the Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety was also present at the Blue-Green Summit where she highlighted the role of technology for a sustainable future. She added these few years have been marked by a shift of mentality to find better and cleaner alternatives, with investors being more conscious of the products that they offer to consumers. The MEP acknowledged that policy alone cannot bring the desired change, and she correctly emphasized that investors and businesses have always been the ones that enabled innovation.

The innovation panel was well-balanced with speakers such as Datuk Franki Anthony Dass, representing one of the biggest sustainable palm oil producer in Malaysia, Zoltan Reng, CEO of one of the biggest bioethanol producer in Central Eastern Europe - Hungrana, and Debbie Dooley. Even though maybe on a daily basis they are not on the same page, they all agreed on the negative consequences of overregulating on the environment and that there are pieces of legislations which did not follow a thorough impact assessment and created unintended consequences, impacted investment and innovation.

Once again, conservatives brought together experts to wrap up a lively debate and to find a solution to the problems the environment is facing today.

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