Julie James: Thank you, Darren Millar. I am committed to addressing the impacts of climate change in every part of Wales. As evidenced in our climate adaptation progress report, which we published in December, across the Welsh Government we continue to develop evidence and policy to address the emerging risks to our health, communities, infrastructure and natural environment.
Julie James: Thank you, Peter. I'll just run through where we've been, because we absolutely acknowledge that we've had difficulty with keeping the staffing at the level we'd like it to have been all the way through, as a result of the pandemic and a number of other economic issues. Back in August 2022, Rent Smart Wales did take the decision to close the telephone lines to incoming calls, due to a severe...
Julie James: Diolch, Peter. Rent Smart Wales has a key role in the sector, taking enforcement action on non-compliant landlords and providing training to ensure landlords are fully aware of their legal obligations. We are going to commission an evaluation of the delivery and impact of Rent Smart Wales later this year.
Julie James: Delyth, that's something very close to my heart, and I will say I'm one of them. I've done that myself; I've put my coat around my hair, put a hat on, and tried to make myself as inconspicuous as possible, because I've been travelling alone at night on public transport and it hasn't felt safe. There are several things to say about that. First of all, I hosted a Women in Transport event just...
Julie James: Yes, Delyth, I completely agree with you. Obviously, we have to do something very dramatic to help our pollinators, and actually all of our wildlife species. It's why we did the deep dive to find out exactly what the scientific community could help us with in terms of the plans. It's why we've been speaking to local authorities across Wales about the wildlife corridors, No Mow May—I would...
Julie James: Yes, thank you. Obviously, we want to get to the point where we don't have untreated sewage going into the rivers. We need an enormous amount of investment not just at the site that you mentioned there, but in sites right across Wales. We're currently in the negotiations with Ofwat and with the UK Government about the price review for water companies in Wales, and, of course, throughout the...
Julie James: I should also say, of course, I'm the native oyster champion, which requires good, clean water to be able to thrive as well. It's a very important question, Huw, and thank you for asking it. As you know, the better river quality taskforce has been established to evaluate the current approach to the management and regulation of overflows in Wales and to set out detailed plans to drive rapid...
Julie James: I am committed to improving biodiversity in Welsh rivers through tackling poor water quality. This includes reducing phosphate pollution and improving river habitats for migratory fish through the Rivers4Life project. Following the biodiversity deep-dive, I am also working with stakeholders to identify catchment-scale solutions to drive water quality improvements.
Julie James: Food policy is the responsibility of the Minster for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd. We support a range of programmes, including work towards a 50 per cent absolute reduction in greenhouse gas emissions associated with food and drink by 2030 and preventing emissions by saving waste food from household bins.
Julie James: We continue to work closely with Newport City Council to deliver improvements at several air quality management areas. This includes funding for specific air quality projects through our local air quality management grant. We are also enforcing the 50 mph limit on the M4 through Newport to address levels of nitrogen dioxide.
Julie James: We will continue to use all the tools available to us to prevent new coal extraction in Wales and bring the extraction and use of coal to a managed end. Our coal policy published in 2021 provides the basis for any decisions that are within our powers to make.
Julie James: Yes, thanks very much, Carolyn. This is something we've long been interested in and I absolutely acknowledge your interest in it as well. This will have to be part of the review, because absolutely beavers need, probably, to be introduced in some rivers. There will be others, though, where they don't need to be introduced, and we need to understand what the ecosystem looks like now. So, this...
Julie James: Absolutely, Huw. Yes, thank you very much for that. The event that I spoke at just before I went, where I still had a cold—some things are always with us—that was great, and I actually met with the RSPB while I was there, and sat in the very chairs that the piece was from on that night, to discuss with them a partnership across the whole of Great Britain for some of the habitats that we...
Julie James: Yes, thank you very much, Mike. You have raised it before, and I've said before, haven't I, about the Yellowstone project. If you watch the reintroduction of the wolves and what happens to the landscape, it's just an amazing transformation as the ecosystem goes back into equilibrium. So, it's very important for us to understand what that equilibrium should look like and to do that judiciously...
Julie James: There are several things in what you said there that I can add to. So, first of all, we will have to work with a group of experts on constructing a review of designated landscapes, and marine and riverscapes as well, so that we have a review that properly looks at what are they trying to protect; is it still worth protecting; is it working; and what would need to happen in this particular...
Julie James: Diolch, Delyth. [Inaudible.] the film, horrifying though it was. Actually, I really do want to see if we can get it, or a version of it, here. There will be issues around copyright and so on. It was National Geographic, so I just want to acknowledge that. That's, obviously, a profit-making company. But we can have a look to see if we can do it here. And if we can't, then I'm sure we can do...
Julie James: Thanks very much, Janet. It was amazing to be at COP15, I have to say. You really do come back feeling evangelical about the need to move on this stuff. One of the things that I really wish I could share with all Members here in the Senedd is that, at the entrance to COP15, there was what was called a 'wholly immersive room', where you went in and you had the most incredible film from...
Julie James: Attending the seventh summit for subnational Governments and cities was one of the key highlights for me at COP15. The summit was dedicated to showcasing the work of subnational Governments and cities on nature recovery, and I was so impressed by the ambition and energy to drive forward action at the local level. We've made some really valuable connections and I am really keen to build on...
Julie James: Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. In December I attended the UN Biodiversity Conference, known as COP15, to add Wales’s voice to calls to agree an ambitious global framework to turn the tide on biodiversity loss before it is too late. After two weeks of intensive negotiations, I’m pleased to say that the Kunming-Montreal biodiversity framework was formally adopted, setting out four global goals, 23...
Julie James: Sorry, go on, Huw.
