Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 2:21 pm on 16 June 2021.
Can I thank the Deputy Minister for the statement? Starting with the science, carbon oxidates to form carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas and traps heat. We know this because Venus, which has mainly a carbon dioxide atmosphere, despite being much further away from the sun than Mercury, is substantially hotter. Whilst saying these few words, I've been expelling carbon dioxide into the atmosphere through the act of breathing. Does the Minister agree that reducing our carbon footprint by exporting industries that produce carbon dioxide will not help reduce global warming but will probably make it worse?
Can I say how really pleased I am with what the Minister said on tree planting? I raised it yesterday in the business statement. If everybody in Wales with a garden planted one tree, we'd have 1 million trees planted in a year. We did have a scheme in the 1970s that worked. I represent the lower Swansea valley, which has gone from a moon-like landscape to being now very much tree lined and that shows what can be done.
I have two key questions. When will the Government change planning policy to ensure that all new houses are net zero? We don't want to build houses that have to be retrofitted in the near future. The second one is: will the Minister continue to support the tidal lagoon in Swansea? This is an opportunity to create green energy that will last forever.