Dr KerrySenior, Director of Leather UK, writes on LinkedIn that these words from the last Sheihk Zayed bin Al Nahyan, founder of the UAE, are prescient and very apt as cop28 takes place in Dubai. My time here has been too brief to do more than scratch the surface. However, in spite of being something of a circus, it is clear that the COP offers an entirely unique opportunity to contribute to and influence thinking and policy on addressing climate change. The whole world is here including world leaders and governments, discussing the issue in a manner that can’t be achieved anywhere else.

There also very strong opinions being expressed by bodies that have the ear of the policy makers; yesterday a WHO representative claimed that 1 in 5 cancers are linked to red meat consumption and Stella McCartney once again used it as a platform to attack leather. This at an event that is very much at the top of the news agenda. Without representation, there is no counter to these claims and the leather industry and indeed, the textiles and fashion industries, are not here. It is my opinion that we need to be in the future, to make the case for natural, long-lasting, climate positive materials. We need to think about how that might happen.