6. What is the Welsh Government’s strategy for improving the ecological footprint of Wales’s urban environments? OAQ(5)0144(ERA)

Thank you. The better management and use of our wealth of natural resources, together with the more efficient use of those resources in circulation, is a key component of our circular economy approach and commitment to green growth and reducing Wales’s ecological footprint.

First—First Minister? Cabinet Secretary—[Interruption.] Yes, that was a quick promotion.

If everyone in the world consumed as much as we do in Wales, we’d need 2.5 planets. I was looking at the ‘Ecological and Carbon Footprints of Wales’ 2015 report by the Stockholm Environment Institute, which I’m glad to say the Welsh Government did commission, and about 11 per cent of our footprint relates to transport—promoting cycling is one of the best things we could do. Actually, Welsh cities are quite good environments for promoting cycling; they’re relatively flat. But what we need to do is re-designate—[Interruption.] Well, Swansea in parts, I suppose. What we need to do is re-designate some of our roads as exclusively for pedestrians and cyclists. Until we do that, we won’t get the sort of modal shift we require.

Yes, I would agree with that statement. Certainly, I was looking at a cycling path in my own constituency of Wrexham and it just ended; it didn’t carry on. So, I did wonder what somebody would do when they were cycling along—you know, where would they go? So, I think all local authorities need to look very carefully at the provision that they have for cyclists and do all they can to improve it.