On its departure from the EU, the UK is faced with the opportunity to improve its global competitiveness and its contribution to the fight against climate change. How will we do this? Through innovation, entrepreneurship and developing top companies to lead the way in environmental capitalism.

The process of ‘Creative Destruction’ pioneered by Joseph Schumpeter led to an enormous improvement in living standards across the world through competition. The engine of capitalism must keep running in the 21st century and remain focused on creating the platform for entrepreneurs to solve the challenges of the day.

We can see from the USA that countries with highly competitive markets, and loose regulatory frameworks continuously produce innovation beyond those of more restrictive ones. This is common knowledge, yet the impact that this innovation can have on the environment is still not fully appreciated by policy makers in the UK.

A key driver of environmental advancement comes from improvements in technology, allowing for companies such as Tesla and Beyond Meat to have the capital required to innovate. This technology combined with a freer business environment allows for domestic innovation to develop at the rate required to compete in the global economy.

To do this, a system of low corporation tax, entrepreneurial hubs and intellectual property law must be refined in order to attract the top talent to develop tomorrow’s technologies. In particular, special focus may be given to green sectors, such as increasing ease of patent application for biological development, or by developing innovation zones in green cities such as Bristol who already have a culture of innovation and sustainability. This will allow for refinement of innovation infrastructure and help create zones for entrepreneurs to work in the UK.

For the UK, this would lead to economic improvements from having more globally competitive firms, but also environmental improvements, due to the proliferation of technology first developed in the UK. We may be able to capitalise on this technology and achieve our environmental targets far quicker than others. Thus the UK should not only prioritise creating a competitive business landscape for economic reasons, but also for environmental reasons. Sustainable capitalism is possible after all.

Tim Edwards is the winner of the 18-21 category in our Young Writer on Liberty 2020 competition.