8. What actions is the Welsh Government taking in Swansea East following the declaration of a climate change emergency? OAQ54030

Last week, Welsh Government accepted the UK Committee on Climate Change's advice to bring forward legislation to adopt a 95 per cent carbon reduction target. We will continue to work with stakeholders to explore how we can set a net zero target in the future.

Thank you for that answer. In order to deal with climate change, we need to reduce carbon emissions and, more importantly, increase the number of plants, especially trees, in order to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. When will specific annual targets for Swansea be set?

The advice that I have seen does not suggest that targets for carbon emission reduction should be set at a sub-Wales level. Even at an all-Wales level, we are vulnerable to events beyond Wales and emission levels inside Wales are affected by single factors. So, it was very pleasing to see last week figures that show good progress towards our 2020 target, with figures showing a 25 per cent reduction compared to 1990. But, in some ways, last year's figures were affected positively by a hot summer and by the fact that Aberthaw coal-fired power station was working for fewer days than it otherwise would have been. The Swansea East constituency that Mike Hedges represents is a very good example of how emissions right on his border, in steel making, could be counted against a Swansea target if we were to have targets at that very local level. Of course, that doesn't mean, Llywydd, that local authorities shouldn't be taking action. We have Swansea's innovative housing programme, its participation in research efforts to reduce emissions from steel, and the Swansea bay tidal lagoon proposal, which would have done so much in relation to renewable energy and our efforts. Some local authorities do set their own targets for internal monitoring purposes and, should Swansea be interested to do that, there is experience elsewhere on which they could draw. 

Finally, question 9, Russell George.