Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 2:08 pm on 4 June 2019.
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.