The G7 summit will just be the start of efforts to attract more investment and jobs into Cornwall while also putting Cornwall at the forefront of the green revolution.

Since the announcement that world leaders would be coming to Carbis Bay in June, there has been a lot of talk about the possible benefits and legacy which could be created for Cornwall.

But with less than two weeks until the G7 rolls into Cornwall, there has been a considerable focus on the disruption which could be caused by the event rather than any possible positives.

Glenn Caplin-Grey, chief executive of the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), has been leading the preparations for how the business sector can take advantage of having the world's attention focused on Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.

He said: "The G7 is a great opportunity to show Cornwall off to the world, both in terms of our people and our exports and the investment opportunities – we need to seize that moment in the global spotlight.

"But it's not just globally, it is important to think about how we position Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly in a UK context as well and make the case for further investment from the UK government."

And one of the key aspects of Cornwall which will be pushed to the fore at G7 will be the work which has been done on environmental projects and climate change initiatives.

"One of the reasons we have been chosen to host the G7 is we are so much further along in our journey to a zero carbon economy than the rest of the country.

"We now have 40% of our power generated by renewables in Cornwall and we have cut our carbon footprint by a fifth in the last few years. We also have exciting opportunities for floating offshore wind.

"We want to make the case as to why Falmouth as a port is a significant place to invest in to help reach the UK's target to have a gigawatt of power generated from offshore wind realised. We want Falmouth to be used for deploying offshore wind in the Celtic Sea.

"But the G7 is also an opportunity to talk about changes to the Government's renewables policy to include geothermal in a much more significant way."

Cornwall has been taking a lead on geothermal with projects at United Downs and at the Eden Project showing how it can be used to generate energy and heat.

Glenn said: "It is great that the Eden Project has the second drill site in Cornwall and we can take Government officials there to show them what is happening in real life."

But as well as showing how investment could be used to push forward these low carbon projects and create new jobs and opportunities in Cornwall the G7 will also be an opportunity to showcase businesses in Cornwall.

Glenn said: "There is an export opportunity – Cornwall exports about £680million of goods to G7 countries every year. These are big trading partners that Cornish companies are already trading with and there is a big opportunity to broaden brand awareness. The world knows a lot about Cornish food and drink already but there is a great opportunity to talk about Cornish manufacturing and Cornish tech industries.

"There is a lot going on in Cornwall that the world doesn't know about. The world knows about Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly being a tourist destination and we expect that to be highlighted again.

"But we want to change the narrative a bit as well and show all the other things that are going on in Cornwall."

It is also hoped that the G7 will provide another legacy in showing young people in Cornwall the opportunities which are available as well as the emerging sectors which could provide new career opportunities for them in future.

Glenn said: "There is a massive opportunity to make young people aware of the opportunities on their doorstep. The Virgin Orbit launch which is planned for next year has generated a lot of interest and excitement.

"They will be here as part of the G7 which will be taking place almost a year before the first launch at Spaceport Cornwall.

"The response we have had from the outreach programme from Spaceport Cornwall that has been taking place in schools across Cornwall has been really huge and inspiring.

"We have young people engaging in STEM in a way they didn't realise would be possible and they have been learning about the connectivity and using the data that will come back to the UK from space through Goonhilly.

"This is inspiring young people to think about the career opportunities that could be available to them here in Cornwall.

"These industries will create highly skilled, well paid jobs which are exactly what we need here in Cornwall."

But while the G7 summit itself will only last a few days Glenn and the LEP want to make sure that any benefits are long lasting.

He said: "It is a moment in the spotlight, but only a moment in the spotlight. We need to make the most of it but as a LEP we want to lay the foundations for the next year and two years. This is a great moment in the spotlight but we need to make sure that when ministers are in Cornwall and when investors are in Cornwall they remember the opportunities they see.

"This is the start of the process for us, not the end and the start in changing the narrative around Cornwall."

And while there has been a lot of coverage about the possible disruption which could be caused to Cornish residents during the G7 summit Glenn hopes that is not what the public will take away from hosting the event.

"We know there will be some disruption during the event but hopefully people can see there is an opportunity here as well.

"The eyes of hundreds of millions of people around the world will be on us. It gives us an opportunity to show Cornwall as we want it to be seen."

Glenn said he had relished the opportunity to be involved in the G7 and said that he and his team were excited about the event.

He said: "It is a really exciting opportunity to show what Cornwall has to offer on a global scale. I have really enjoyed bringing all the stores of Cornwall together and condensing them into a package for the people who will be at the G7.

"I don't think we will get the opportunity again in my career or my lifetime and it is exciting to be involved in it."

However Glenn also highlighted that this particular G7 summit will be slightly different to others due to the current environment.

"We have never had a G7 in these circumstances, as we exit a pandemic and thinking really hard about new ways of working, new ways of living and new technology.

"I am hoping that coming out of lockdown, it will accelerate our recovery in the short term. There will be an impact on additional visitors and interest and local companies will be ideally placed to own some of the Government contracts around hosting the summit which will help in the current situation.

"This G7 is also in the run-up to the COP26 and that will be a much broader conversation about climate change which will start from here. We should see this as part of a journey and that is the difference between this and previous G7 events."

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