Margaret Thatcher, who passed away yesterday, polarised opinion perhaps more than any other British politician. Yet, whatever you thought of her, she was ahead of her time when she made her breakthrough environment speeches to the Royal Society in 1988 and to the UN the following year.
In these speeches, which are worth reading in full, she raised the public profile of global environmental threats such as climate change, ozone depletion and habitat destruction all driven by a growing population consuming more. Mike McCarthy in the Independent argued in 2011 that Lady Thatcher's "passionate rhetoric" demonstrated that tackling climate change was not a left-wing cause. Roger Harrabin, BBC's environment correspondence, wrote yesterday that she legitimised green concerns.
Perhaps it was her scientific background that gave her confidence and authority to talk about these things. I wish those today that do not have such training, had more respect for those that do.
But, in 2002, she exposed a paradox in her beliefs when she wrote: "Whatever international action we agree upon to deal with environmental problems, we must enable our economies to grow and develop, because without growth you cannot generate the wealth required to pay for the protection of the environment". This view is shared by some politicians today but only work if economic growth is decoupled for environmental harm (such as pollution, habitat destruction and overexploitation of species).
The publication yesterday of the Natural Capital Committee's first report is the latest reminder that we have failed to find solutions to the problems Lady Thatcher highlighted a quarter of a century ago: our natural assets (including wildlife populations) continue to decline at an unprecedented rate, the pressures are growing and our current response is inadequate. I shall say more on this later this week.
One last quote (which Lady Thatcher made during the Falklands crisis) is one which I fear may hold true for many politicians today: "When you've spent half your political life dealing with humdrum issues like the environment, it's exciting to have a real crisis on your hands." Now there is no doubt: the planet faces the twin crises of biodiversity loss and catastrophic climate change. And we are still awaiting the right political response.
What is your abiding memory of Lady Thatcher?
I know you have an opinion and it would be great to hear your views.
Margaret Thatcher was a remarkable politician in the sense that she acted with the courage of her convictions (not for reasons of political expediency); in so doing she was prepared to for-go personal popularity in order to change the world and settle for the judgement of history. In this regard - as in a propensity for "power-napping" - she had much in common with her role model, Winston Churchill. Her impact has been likened to 'throwing a grenade into 1970s British Politics and out of the resulting social debris and carnage forging a new, wholly transformed, economic and political landscape' - changes which, she later noted ironically, made the Labour Party electable in the modern era. In the struggle on behalf of Nature, perhaps, we should also be prepared to concede contemporary popularity in exchange for a legacy of greater (environmental) effectiveness.