Climate change, of course, is a global threat and requires a global response. International co-operation, each nation doing its part, will be essential to mitigate the threat that climate change poses, and to react to the effects of our warming world. The Paris agreement, as has been mentioned, will enter into force in two days’ time on 4 November. After being agreed in December 2015, it was ratified remarkably quickly for an international treaty, hopefully a precedent for other treaties that might be on the horizon in the not-too-distant future. It suggests that there is a growing recognition of the desperate need to do something before irreparable damage is done to our planet. It was an unexpected outcome of the conference that the emissions goal was increased beyond was previously agreed. While keeping temperatures well below 2 degrees above pre-industrial levels and pursuing efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels had already been decided, the agreement also now sets an aim for emissions to peak as soon as possible and for emissions from human activity and absorption by carbon sinks to balance sometime in the second half of the century.

We need to see the Welsh Government match this increasing global ambition. Every country, no matter its size, can play a meaningful role in reducing emissions, but we will need a new, radical approach. Indeed, I echo David Melding’s call for a revolution. We have seen Wales fall behind other countries, as my colleague Bethan Jenkins has mentioned. In Scotland, there has been real progress and, as a devolved country, it should act as an inspiration to us here. It’s not good enough that emissions have fallen by just 18 per cent in Wales since 1990, while sea ice shrinks and sea levels rise.

The well-being of future generations Act commits Wales to being a nation that, when doing anything to improve the economic, social, environmental and cultural well-being of Wales, takes into account of whether doing such a thing may make a positive contribution to global well-being. This must become more than a pleasant aspiration on paper. It must result in real action being taken, and urgently. The Welsh Government should start by endorsing the Paris agreement before attending the Marrakesh climate change conference later this month. This would signal that Wales takes seriously its responsibility for working to tackle climate change alongside our neighbours and as part of the global community.

The UK’s vote to leave the European Union will make things harder. Collaboration with the rest of the continent could be endangered at a time when it is needed more than ever, but it also presents Wales with an opportunity to set a distinct and more ambitious path. Given the current political atmosphere in England, it would not be surprising if we saw environmental legislation being watered down once the UK leaves the European Union. As responsibility for the environment is already devolved, Wales can be more radical and remain steadfast in our commitment to reducing emissions. On this point—I’m feeling in a very optimistic mood today—I hope that the Cabinet Secretary will today indicate whether or not her Government is prepared to take the opportunity that is coming in the coming years for Wales to take its place at every global conference and international organisation as a member in its own right, as a sub-state nation, when it comes to climate change and the environment—that we will actively seek membership for our country in global organisations where, perhaps, the European Union has represented us in the past, and to ensure that the United Kingdom does not speak for us once we have left the European Union.

Of course, the impact of leaving the EU is more than just political. EU funding that currently backs environmental projects will be lost. Programmes like Glastir, the sustainable land management scheme, will need to find alternative funding to replace the support from the EU agricultural fund for rural development. We cannot let climate change initiatives like this disappear when the funding from Europe dries up. The consequences of failing to act will be grave. There will be a huge impact upon human lives across the world. As the global temperature increases, the inhabitable areas of the world will change, causing food insecurity and leading to even more population displacement than we see now. Climate change is already an international crisis, and can only get worse if we do not act. Wales must play its own part, far bigger than the size of our population, in global efforts to prevent this disaster from happening.