Climate Change

Part of 1. Questions to the Minister for Environment, Energy and Rural Affairs – in the Senedd at 2:10 pm on 15 May 2019.

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Photo of Lesley Griffiths Lesley Griffiths Labour 2:10, 15 May 2019

Thank you. I mentioned that officials are currently digesting the advice we had from the UK CCC, but we are also reviewing the urgency of actions in our low-carbon plan to see where we can take further action following the declaration. I chair the ministerial task and finish group—which is a cross-Government group—and I've made it a priority for that group to have a look at how we can address that. We fully recognise the urgency of tackling climate change. We may be a small country, but we take our responsibility globally very, very seriously, and we need to do it in a way that maximises the wider benefits for society as we move to a low-carbon economy.

I go back to what I was saying. I think it was really important to make that declaration, to galvanise others to have that trigger—a wave of action at home and internationally, for everybody to come together to recognise the crisis that we do have. Wales is part of the Under2 coalition—we're actually on the steering group—and I've been very fortunate to attend conferences with other states and regions to see the work that's done right across the world. The coalition is made up of about 220 governments right across the world, and they represent over 1.3 billion people and 43 per cent of the global economy. It's important that we learn from other countries, but I think it is only through taking action at home that we can stimulate other actions right across the world.