Delyth Jewell: Thank you, Minister. Actually, that ties in with the final question I was going to put to you about the concern about the environmental governance gaps that have been created since the UK has departed from the EU. On this governance gap, there is a real fear, which I know that you're aware of, that it could really lead to environmental harm continuing and there are limited options for redress...
Delyth Jewell: Okay, well, I welcome that and thank you, Minister, and I welcome the pun as well. Turning to a different area about nature targets, the Senedd, a fortnight ago, voted in favour of Plaid Cymru's motion and declared a nature emergency, and that motion had called on the Welsh Government to introduce legally binding nature recovery targets. This represented an important step and it's not just...
Delyth Jewell: Thank you, Llywydd. Minister, community energy has a crucial role to play in ensuring that we deliver net zero. It has a role in ensuring public consent, increasing participation and incorporating behavioural change. A recent report that looks at the state of the sector calls on the Government to show its support to the movement by ensuring that the Welsh Government and the UK Government have...
Delyth Jewell: What steps will the Welsh Government take to address air pollution in South Wales East?
Delyth Jewell: Thank you, Deputy Llywydd, and thank you, Minister, for the statement. I welcome the Government’s ambition in this area and I agree that trees are incredible. It's so important that Wales has a wood economy that safeguards trees, expands the numbers of forests in the country and creates jobs and building material that will be part of our economic recovery. It's clear that we will need...
Delyth Jewell: I'd like a statement, please, about protecting people from air pollution. Residents in Cwmfelinfach are concerned about a waste treatment facility granted planning permission in Nine Mile Point industrial estate. An environmental permit was originally refused by Natural Resources Wales, because of how emissions could affect residents' health, but NRW reneged on the refusal, when the company...
Delyth Jewell: First Minister, we know that the rates of COVID are increasing again in our communities, and after 16 long months of lockdown, members of the public are understandably fatigued with the restrictions, but the new variants are incredibly transmissible, so how do we get that message across to a public that is hearing irresponsible and confused messaging coming out of an English Government that...
Delyth Jewell: There is a touch of the Jekyll and Hyde about this motion, isn't there? On the one hand, I agree entirely with the points about air pollution, the need for more investment in public transport infrastructure, improving electric vehicle charge points and working with bus operators—they're all really important issues. Then, the second and third parts of the motion seem to undercut the first,...
Delyth Jewell: The point has already been made in this debate that when we think of the tourism industry, we tend to focus mainly on our coastlines, our mountains and our national parks. However, Wales is blessed with so many beautiful hidden places, perhaps; jewels that shimmer under the surface and deserve to attract more visitors. We've already also heard in this debate about how vital it is to help the...
Delyth Jewell: Trefnydd, in recent weeks, I've been made aware of the experiences of people on train journeys, where they don't feel safe because people weren't keeping to social distancing and nobody was being reminded to wear masks. My colleague in Westminster Hywel Williams has seen an internal briefing given to Transport for Wales staff that tells them not to enforce social distancing. This is unsafe...
Delyth Jewell: Now, I think that from some of the really wonderful, eloquent contributions that we've had today, one of the most pressing points I suppose that's come out of the debate is how we are not just acting for our own generation, for the people who are living on this planet now; we are doing it for generations yet to be born—children whose health, happiness and interpersonal skills benefit so...
Delyth Jewell: Thank you, finally, to the Minister for confirming that the Government will be supporting the motion. Swifts made an appearance in the Minister's contribution as well, and I think that that was a really important point that the Minister made that this is not a small thing to say, and an even bigger thing to do. It is an important challenge that, obviously, we can't just declare a nature...
Delyth Jewell: Now, it's clear from the contributions that nature is in crisis in Wales, but that we also have an opportunity now to change that. We can introduce targets for nature's restoration that are legally binding, that will lead to investment, monitoring and improvement, because without legislation in the past, the targets haven't been achieved. Now, I understand the stance of the Conservatives...
Delyth Jewell: Thank you to Mabon for that contribution about the wonderful nature in Dwyfor Meirionnydd, the Snowdonia Society, as well as the power of the community. That's such an important element.
Delyth Jewell: Thank you to Siân Gwenllian for speaking again about the hope that comes from the fact that rare species can be saved, and for talking about how important it is to turn this situation around for our children.
Delyth Jewell: Mark Isherwood reminded us of the international framing, of course, of our debate. It's been so wonderful as well to hear Mark, Siân, Jenny, Julie and other Members talk about their own species for which they're champion. To the young—well, to the new Members, I should say, in the Senedd, who might be envious about how many species champions we've been talking about, I'm sure that Wales...
Delyth Jewell: Dirprwy Lywydd, what a wonderful debate this has been.
Delyth Jewell: I thank Janet Finch-Saunders for her speech. I recognise as well that declaring a crisis on its own doesn't achieve enough, as the Minister just said. That's why we would also propose targets and governance on the things that need to be done. But I like that image of hope and that crescendo of action that she talked about.
Delyth Jewell: That sense of crescendo, of a growing sense of cross-party support, was picked up by Huw Irranca-Davies, and I welcome his support, too.
Delyth Jewell: But, to go back to those targets, because they play an important role—targets set the tone and track—how does that landscape look internationally? The Convention on Biological Diversity targets lapsed in 2020; they were global targets to reverse wildlife loss and decline in the natural environment, and the UN confirmed that we had all failed miserably to achieve them. And when you miss a...
