4. What assessment has the Welsh Government made of the proposed seismic survey of Cardigan Bay? OAQ53975

I thank Joyce Watson for that. The Welsh Government opposes the extraction and consumption of all fossil fuels. Our commitment to decarbonisation and renewable energy generation places fossil fuels at the bottom of the energy hierarchy here in Wales. All of that applies to activity in the St George's channel and elsewhere around the Welsh coast.

I'm really pleased to hear that, and I'm equally pleased to hear that this proposed activity is now under suspension. But the 7,000 people who have signed a petition who opposed this will be equally pleased to hear that, and I did write to the Minister for Environment, Planning and Rural Affairs on this in May. But I think—. And I was going to ask, but you've already pre-empted my question, for some clarity on our position with regard to such surveys, in the same way that we made our position abundantly clear when it came to fracking. So, I'm now able, thanks to you pre-empting my question, to write back to the people who have been writing to me to make that abundantly clear, that we do oppose any such activity, particularly in these waters, where they are marine-protected areas and sustain the wildlife that lives within them.  

Can I thank Joyce Watson for the consistent interest that she has taken in this matter, and the way that she has kept Welsh Ministers informed of local concerns? I'm glad to have been able to set out the Welsh Government's position. It's inevitable, Llywydd, and right that our commitment to decarbonisation means that fossil fuels must be at the bottom of the energy hierarchy here in Wales, rather than as in the policy of the UK Government, which is to maximise recovery of oil and gas from the UK continental shelf, including Wales. Indeed, it has placed a statutory obligation on the Oil and Gas Authority to achieve exactly that. Now, that is not the position of the Welsh Government. More than one Government's interest are at play in relation to proposed seismic surveys of the Cardigan bay and St George's channel area, but our position is, I think, as clear as it can be, and I'm very glad to have been able to have put it on the record again this afternoon. 

Of course, on this side of the Chamber, we're very pleased indeed that the company has put its application at this point on hold, but I think it's important to emphasise that our understanding is that it's on hold, not abandoned altogether. None of us, I think, want to see this testing in Cardigan bay. Now, the First Minister says that he and his Government wholeheartedly oppose any proposals to speculate for the potential extraction of gas or oil from this area. However, it's our understanding that Eni, the company, justified its application partly on the basis of the draft Welsh marine plan, which specifically says, and I quote:

'Proposals that maximise the long-term supply of oil and gas are encouraged'.

Now, obviously, this is a draft plan as it stands at the moment, but I would ask the First Minister, in the light of what he's said this afternoon, and in the light of the climate change emergency declaration, that he will commit with his Ministers to reviewing the draft marine plan to remove any clauses that companies in future might be able to use, even if they're quoting those clauses potentially out of context, which they may have been in this case—that any clauses that might be seen to encourage extraction should be removed, and a clear commitment to discourage extraction from any part of the Welsh marine environment be in place, firmly in place, within that plan when it's finalised.  

Llywydd, I thank the Member for those points and for the caveated way in which she quoted what the company had said. She was right in what she said, that we have published a draft plan, that there is consultation that has taken place on that draft plan, and I know Members will look forward to seeing the way in which the final plan, which we plan to publish later this year, will take into account views expressed during consultation and developments that have happened in the interim.