5. Statement by the Minister for Climate Change: Nature, biodiversity and local places for nature

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:19 pm on 12 October 2021.

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Photo of Julie James Julie James Labour 4:19, 12 October 2021

I'll just start from where Janet finished and say that, of course, we're willing to work together with the UK Government if only they were willing to work with us. Janet mentioned a few of the investments she says that they have made but, of course, they're all historic investments. What they haven't done is replaced the funding that we've lost from the European Union, and she knows that as well as I do. She would help Wales very much if she were able to make sure that the Government that she supports stays with its promise that Wales should not be a penny less well off as a result of us leaving the European Union, and she knows full well that that's not currently the case. 

In terms of the other things that she's asked me, the binding targets I have discussed many times already in this Senedd. Of course, we will be looking at binding targets. We will be looking at that in the light of both COP15 and COP26, in the light of where the global community is, and to make sure that they are both stretching and achievable. So, I would be very happy to work with Senedd Members on coming to an agreement about what those targets should be, and I'd be very happy to have my feet held to that fire, because that's exactly what we want. We want stretching, binding targets. But we need to make sure that we set them in the right context and at the right level of stretch. So, I'd be very happy to do that.

In terms of plans coming forward, I've had very good meetings with the farmers unions myself. They have been very pleased to work with us. Our plan will be set in the context of our net-zero plan. We have, as you know, a statutory duty to produce such a plan. The plan should be produced by December, but we will be producing it before we go to COP26, so we can use it as the platform for our base there. So, we will be announcing that in the week just before COP26 starts, so I'm sure she'll look forward to that.

In terms of Wales in Bloom, of course we are very happy to support all of those kinds of initiatives. I do commend the numbers of community groups around Wales who are interested in the natural environment, both in beautifying the towns that they live in, but actually, much more importantly, making them receptive for pollinators and other species who are otherwise struggling. I'm very pleased to say that the Welsh Government itself has been able to install a number of bat boxes, bee boxes, and other types of things on its estates and Government buildings, so we are going along with the same thing that we're asking our communities to do in that spirit of 'team Wales'.