Watergate reposted this
Interesting evening in Parliament this evening with Krystian Zajac, for the launch of a new report exploring what needs to change to enable Britain to become a Net Zero tech and science powerhouse. Spoiler alert…. a lot! 😦 We are playing a massive game of catch up to the US and China among others, as the Council on Geostrategy report makes clear. From the ‘valley of death’ facing startups that can’t get beyond seed/series A , to the bureaucratic burden of applying for funding, or the last ten years’ revolving door of ministers which put the brakes on big decision making, or a visa system that acts as a barrier to top tier talent….. the new government has a lot to sort! My personal view is that many net zero technologies (like ours at Watergate) could make a huge impact within government. Why not ring-fence some of the cash government departments already spend for British startups with proven ideas that will solve environmental problems, whilst saving them money? Or how about incredible organisations like Innovate UK do more to help the startups they’ve backed by opening doors within government? To be fair, the report’s author, Dr Mann Virdee does a great job of proposing solutions. It’s well worth a read and hats off to John Caudwell for making noise about this important issue and funding the report 👏. Report link in comments 👇