3. Will the Minister outline the Welsh Government's plans to tackle the effects of climate change in north Wales? OQ56605

The advice and report issued today on the risks and opportunities of climate change underline the importance of our work to make every part of Wales, including the north, more climate resilient. 

Thank you, Deputy Minister, for your response. Congratulations to you, of course, on your appointment, and to the Minister, too, Julie James, on your appointment as well. And thank you for the engagement so far in my role as shadow Minister for local government. I want to raise the issue of rising sea levels and the impacts of this across north Wales. According to a climate change study by Climate Central, large parts of the coast along the north Wales region could be underwater by 2050 if appropriate measures are not put in place. Current projections show that areas of Flintshire that border the River Dee, along with coastal areas such as Prestatyn, Rhyl and Llandudno, could be lost to rising sea levels in the next 30 years. So, with many options available such as adaptations, tidal lagoons and sea defence infrastructure, what specific action are you taking and what investment are you providing to reduce the risk that rising sea levels pose to communities such as these in north Wales?

Can I just at the outset make it clear that I want to congratulate everybody on getting re-elected? I'm very glad to see everybody, and I thank them for their question. Perhaps, with that pro forma, I can not say that every time we get up.

Hear, hear. 

I think you're absolutely right to highlight the fresh evidence again in the report today about the impact of rising sea levels caused directly by man-made global warming. Much of the consequences of that are baked in and we're going to have to deal with it, while we simultaneously try and make sure the problem is not exacerbated. The fact that most of our large settlements are based on along the sea in the north and the south of our country clearly places enormous challenges on us in managing that process. We have put in place a range of measures. We have published our national flood and coastal erosion management strategy, in October 2020, setting out a plan for the next decade, including lessons learned from the recent flooding. We've put £65 million into the budget for flood management this financial year, which is the largest amount ever in a single year, and we have recently completed major projects, including in St Asaph, in Borth, and in Llanberis. The programme for government commits to funding flood protection for more than 45,000 homes and, importantly, nature-based flood management in all major river catchment areas. This is a huge challenge for us all, and I do hope that we can work collaboratively to come up with solutions, both in this Chamber but also, of course, crucially, with local authorities, who are at the sharp end of this.

I'd like to congratulate the Minister and the Deputy Minister. You've got a huge portfolio there, and very interesting, too. Can I start by commending the Welsh Government and the work it has done to put climate change at the centre of its agenda for this Senedd term? As the WWF pointed out, and Delyth earlier, one of the devastating impacts of climate change is biodiversity loss, with hundreds of species at risk of extinction. I want to ensure that action is taken at every level of Government to protect species in my region of north Wales. The Environment (Wales) Act 2016 placed a duty on local authorities to seek to maintain and enhance biodiversity. Will the Deputy Minister outline the Welsh Government's plans in tackling biodiversity loss in north Wales and ensure local authorities play their role in conservation as well? Thank you.

I agree that this is a deeply worrying trend. The Welsh Government's plan is set out in our nature recovery action plan for managing biodiversity loss. We have created the nature networks fund with the National Lottery and we've invested close to £10 million in that. That is already showing its results in communities right across Wales. In the north in particular, Natural Resources Wales is funding Dee LIFE to restore natural habitats around the Dee and Bala lake special areas of conservation. The Member and I have had an exchange on social media recently about the impact that mowing practices across Wales can have in particular on biodiversity loss. I was pleased to note that the Llywydd even joined in with some helpful suggestions on how we might use the way that we manage our highways, but also the local authorities that manage the land in their operation. Having tapped into the knowledge and expertise of the Member, as a former cabinet member in Flintshire for highways, clearly there is some really good practice going on across Wales, and that was evident from the range of contributors to the thread. But there does seem to be some unevenness, and there seem to be things that others can learn from the practical experience they're having. So, Llywydd, I was very pleased that Carolyn Thomas has agreed to do a short piece of work for us, trying to collect examples of good practice from local authorities and then trying to identify what barriers might be being put in the way, preventing them from applying that more evenly, and making a set of recommendations to me and Julie James to see how we might address this and roll it out. Innovation is a great thing; diffusion is always the greater challenge. I very much welcome Carolyn Thomas's help in trying to spread good practice.