The Climate Emergency

Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 2:12 pm on 7 December 2021.

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Photo of Janet Finch-Saunders Janet Finch-Saunders Conservative 2:12, 7 December 2021

First Minister, just this weekend, towns and communities across north Wales, and probably the whole of Wales, tried to steel themselves against yet another torrid onslaught of very stormy weather. My local authority, Conwy County Borough Council, took several pre-emptive measures by closing all available floodgates, but we've seen really extensive damage to the promenade at Llanfairfechan. It stretches right through to West Shore, and there are implications now for the railway line that runs along that. It's so bad that even recent works after one of the previous storms have been washed away now in the sea. To me, such incidents as this prove the finding of the third UK climate change risk assessment, that more action is needed from all Governments to address the risk of climate change impacts, but especially more frequent flooding and coastal erosion causing damage to infrastructure. So, First Minister, what proactive steps is the Welsh Government taking to engage with our communities, and in particular our local authorities who bear the brunt of this, and Natural Resources Wales, to identify at-risk infrastructure points to ensure that storm-resilient precautions are introduced? And more so, what steps can you take now as a Welsh Government, First Minister, to make sure that there is a contingency fund in place to support our local authorities in the aftermath of such recurring storms? Because I think these now are going to become more frequent than they have been in the past. Thank you. Diolch.