Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 6:07 pm on 2 November 2021.
Thank you very much, Rhun. Could I agree with you that there are a lot of things we need to consider in this area? One of those, of course, is something that you mentioned, which is the impact of air pollution on health. We know that there is a link between air pollution and cardiac arrest, and stroke, heart disease, lung cancer, obesity, cardiovascular disease, asthma, dementia—all of those all linked to air pollution. So, evidently, we need to take this seriously. It's not something that is a separate issue.
You're quite right to say that, when we develop ideas for new hospitals or new developments, we need to consider public transport. I want to praise Hefin David for the work that he's done with bus companies to try and achieve better links to the Grange hospital. So, that has been a great help.
In terms of increasing capacity, there is a new group that's been formed, the climate change group, and there is a decarbonisation board, and all health boards have to develop action plans. What's important is that they understand, when it comes to procurement, that that is where a lot of the problems stem from in terms of carbon.
So, there are four areas that we need to focus on: one is the buildings; the second is energy; the third is procurement; and the fourth is transport. So, of all of those, I think it's procurement where we have the greatest scope to make a difference.
I'd like to thank you for drawing my attention to the UN Race to Zero. I haven't seen that yet, but I will look into that to see whether that is something that we can sign up to as well. What I do know is that the WHO has said that climate change will lead to 250,000 additional deaths by 2030. So, we all have a responsibility. Our children are watching us, and we need to respond.