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Be 'muscular' and drive green recovery, Cameron tells Johnson

Free market can be overruled if necessary to create post-Covid growth, ex-PM advises former rival
Boris Johnson must be “muscular” in reshaping the economy to bring about a green recovery from the coronavirus crisis, former prime minister David Cameron has said, calling for an active policy of industrial intervention.
Cameron, who as prime minister from 2010 to 2016 oversaw the UK’s recovery from the 2008 financial crisis, said the lessons from that recession were clear. “My advice would be, from what I learnt, is that as well as the framework
“The government has got a strong framework for green energy policy and in green investment, much of which we put in place, but it needs to combine that with active assistance and helping with key green investments that can make a difference,” he said. “There’s every opportunity for this recovery to be a green recovery.”
Cameron pointed to the example of his government encouraging the German company Siemens to build a wind turbine factory in Hull. “That is a transformational investment, that only happened because we really helped to make it happen. We cleared all the obstacles out of the way, we helped in lots of different ways. And I think there’ll be lots of opportunities like that
Johnson has been seen as an instinctively free-market, anti-interventionist Tory in the past, though his response to the coronavirus crisis has shown a willingness to tear up the rulebook. Cameron said that even Conservative prime ministers could overrule the free market when they wanted to.
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Cameron also wants the government to show leadership on the climate ahead of the UK’s hosting of the Cop26 UN climate summit this November in Glasgow, and as holder of the revolving G7 presidency this year.
The former prime minister has joined Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, former president of Liberia, former Irish president Mary Robinson, and other current and former heads of state, to focus attention on fragile states, and the opportunity to use solar and wind power to bring electric power to the 800 million people who lack it.
The Council on State Fragility, of which Cameron is co-chair, issued a call to action to the G7 on Wednesday, with a report that found 90% of the world’s 800 million people who lack electricity live in fragile states.
Aid donors gave only $460m for fragile states to gain energy access in 2018, which the council said fell well short of the sums needed. Sirleaf warned: “The Covid-19 crisis has derailed decades of progress on extreme poverty and will continue to have devastating indirect effects on fragile states. A global, concerned push to invest in clean energy in fragile countries could transform lives by powering homes, businesses, schools and hospitals, which will be critical for these countries to recover.”
Cameron said solar and wind power were now cheap options to bring power to countries beset by conflict, deepening poverty and instability. “All the stars are in alignment, because distributed green energy systems have become way more cost effective, they’re way more available, and this links in with people’s desire to see action taken to deal with climate change and shortage of electricity in a sustainable way,” he said. “This year with the
Cameron said the government’s decision to cut the overseas aid budget, which he set at 0.7% of GDP, to 0.5%, was “a big mistake” ahead of Cop26 and the UK’s G7 presidency. “It’s both a tragedy and a mistake … particularly as Britain is making its way in the post-Brexit world and wants to prove that it is a global power and can still punch above its weight, and has important elements of soft power. Our aid budget was an absolutely key element
Cameron refused to criticise the government, as many others have done, for giving the green light to a new coal mine in Cumbria. “I need to look at this more,” he said. “When I was prime minister, we really moved decisively away from coal for power. We still have an iron and steel industry that imports coking coal.”
He added: “I try to limit my criticism of the government to one at any one time. And what’s happened over DFID
source: Fiona Harvey
Levant
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BENEFIT Sponsors BuildHer...
- April 23, 2025
BENEFIT, the Kingdom’s innovator and leading company in Fintech and electronic financial transactions service, has sponsored the BuildHer CityHack 2025 Hackathon, a two-day event spearheaded by the College of Engineering and Technology at the Royal University for Women (RUW).
Aimed at secondary school students, the event brought together a distinguished group of academic professionals and technology experts to mentor and inspire young participants.
More than 100 high school students from across the Kingdom of Bahrain took part in the hackathon, which featured an intensive programme of training workshops and hands-on sessions. These activities were tailored to enhance participants’ critical thinking, collaborative problem-solving, and team-building capabilities, while also encouraging the development of practical and sustainable solutions to contemporary challenges using modern technological tools.
BENEFIT’s Chief Executive Mr. Abdulwahed AlJanahi, commented: “Our support for this educational hackathon reflects our long-term strategic vision to nurture the talents of emerging national youth and empower the next generation of accomplished female leaders in technology. By fostering creativity and innovation, we aim to contribute meaningfully to Bahrain’s comprehensive development goals and align with the aspirations outlined in the Kingdom’s Vision 2030—an ambition in which BENEFIT plays a central role.”
Professor Riyadh Yousif Hamzah, President of the Royal University for Women, commented: “This initiative reflects our commitment to advancing women in STEM fields. We're cultivating a generation of creative, solution-driven female leaders who will drive national development. Our partnership with BENEFIT exemplifies the powerful synergy between academia and private sector in supporting educational innovation.”
Hanan Abdulla Hasan, Senior Manager, PR & Communication at BENEFIT, said: “We are honoured to collaborate with RUW in supporting this remarkable technology-focused event. It highlights our commitment to social responsibility, and our ongoing efforts to enhance the digital and innovation capabilities of young Bahraini women and foster their ability to harness technological tools in the service of a smarter, more sustainable future.”
For his part, Dr. Humam ElAgha, Acting Dean of the College of Engineering and Technology at the University, said: “BuildHer CityHack 2025 embodies our hands-on approach to education. By tackling real-world problems through creative thinking and sustainable solutions, we're preparing women to thrive in the knowledge economy – a cornerstone of the University's vision.”
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