This inquiry focused on whether the Welsh Government's emissions reduction targets for transport were realistic, and whether its decarbonisation plans were ambitious and innovative enough. We looked at technologies and the funding models available. It's important to also look, of course, as we did, at what inroads the Welsh Government was making, and identify gaps in advance of the consultation on the new transport strategy, which, of course, we hope to influence. We finished gathering evidence in January, well before the lockdown, and we reported in July, so our report does reflect issues in the early part of the pandemic.

The report recognised that not all is devolved, but has plenty of evidence about the levers within Welsh Government control. I'd also like to thank the Minister, Ken Skates, for providing us with a further update in November to his original response in August, again reflecting recent changes.

The report recognised the potential for a culture shift in people's travel behaviour following the March lockdown. September figures from the Department for Transport showed that motor vehicle use had recovered most rapidly, but bus and rail hadn't recovered at all well. So, there's still plenty of uncertainty and concern about the viability of the public transport network.

Welsh Government's legislative programme plans to give local authorities more flexibility over bus operations were, of course, thrown off course by the pandemic, but the Welsh Government and Transport for Wales now see the bus emergency scheme as the opportunity to influence decarbonisation efforts. Our report also asked how Welsh Government would align COVID-19 recovery funding with its decarbonisation agenda and capitalise on the benefits. I look forward to further detail, as promised, as we go into 2021.

The report set out evidence about possible funding mechanisms, and we supported the future generations commissioner's call for more clarity on how the Welsh Government's budget supports decarbonisation. The high capital cost of investing in electric vehicles is a real barrier for bus operators and local authorities, with more Government support needed, so we asked what consideration the Welsh Government had given to retrofitting diesel buses over buying new electric ones, which some had proposed, but again with some disadvantage. So, we welcome the support plan being developed to help achieve the 2028 target for electric fleets.

We also asked, Deputy Presiding Officer, for assurances about the charging infrastructure and energy network capacity to go electric, and to sustainably recycle electric batteries. The Welsh Government has published its strategy on electric vehicle charging today, as it happens, so I've already had a quick look at that, but I'll be pleased to look at that in more detail. But there is a view that Government should help fill the gaps that the market can't or won't fill, such as, particularly, of course, rural areas. When we discussed the Wales transport strategy in Plenary just a couple of weeks ago, the Deputy Minister said that priority of investment decisions would be looked at as part of that delivery plan.

The community transport and taxi and private hire sector said that they needed more support to decarbonise, and the response to recommendation 6 recognises the importance of supporting the community transport sector. We welcome the Government's continued efforts to find ways to support taxi drivers, including the 'try before you buy' pilots for green taxis, and we look forward to the promised further update in March of next year. 

We supported the Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership calling for a UK-wide approach to defining vehicle standards to help encourage investment in new technology, and we also welcomed the Welsh Government's commitment to keep us updated on developments in that regard.

On modal shift, it was good to see COVID-19 funding for local measures to encourage more active travel, but detailed plans, I certainly think, are now needed to manage and meet demand on the public transport network for the longer term. And while the chief executive of Transport for Wales, who spoke to committee a fortnight ago, said he was quite bullish about future revenue generation on the rail network and the opportunities to better join up bus and rail, which was positive to hear, the committee will be examining the pros and cons of the Government's ambition for 30 per cent of Welsh workers to continue working remotely. Certainly, we've had some challenges on committee with some Members finding that more difficult than others, but it certainly doesn't work for everyone. As I say, we found that out as a committee, but we did see some short-term benefits of the enforced reduction in car use, such as improved air quality. 

Finally, our report identified some gaps in the Welsh Government's decarbonisation plans to the freight sector, and the role that Cardiff Airport should play, in our view. So, it is encouraging that there will be mini plans produced for the different transport sectors and transport modes to deliver the new transport strategy. I look forward, Deputy Presiding Officer, to hearing the views of colleagues around the Chamber and, of course, the Deputy Minister, who I believe is responding to the Senedd today. And I, of course, commend this report to the Senedd.