7. Welsh Conservatives Debate: A green recovery

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 5:24 pm on 3 November 2021.

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Photo of Luke Fletcher Luke Fletcher Plaid Cymru 5:24, 3 November 2021

Well, I'll throw it back to you, Janet—and thanks for the intervention as well—have you ever looked at how many workers have suffered poor working conditions to make those billionaires their billions? That's the reality here. There's a lot of paying back that needs to happen, I think, right. And at what point, when we face a disaster that threatens to wipe out humanity, when we see so much poverty, when we know climate refugees are a reality—at what point do we as a society turn around and say that hoarding that amount of wealth is immoral? We must shift our culture as a society now to put the collective ahead of the individual, otherwise, it's quite simply game over.

In terms of the debate before us today and in the context of the Welsh economy, a green recovery is especially important in the context of the climate emergency. We must ensure that this period of transitioning our economy is a just one. One in five Welsh workers are in climate-critical sectors. Those who will be hit by the shift to net zero must not left be—must not left, must not left—must not be left behind—I'm skipping over my own words now—and must be found a place, of course, in this new, greener economy. Reskilling workers in high-carbon industries to the industries of the future must happen now and we must seize powers and the powers we need to deliver a green recovery for Wales. The Trade Union Congress has suggested that 60,000 green jobs could be created in Wales if we invest properly, however, in a Construction Industry Training Board survey, more than 78 per cent of employers that responded believed that there is a shortage of skills in their specific occupation to decarbonise. That means that there is a need for clear skills, training and jobs strategies to achieve net-zero targets. To realise our green ambitions and to truly deliver a green economic recovery, we need to invest in the green workforce to deliver for climate and nature. We need to upskill our energy workforce, our housing workforce, our transport workforce and beyond to deliver green jobs for green outcomes.