Part of 1. Questions to the Minister for Climate Change – in the Senedd at 1:50 pm on 21 September 2022.
Diolch, Llywydd. I would also like to extend my best wishes to the Minister for Climate Change and hope for her speedy recovery.
Minister, the Welsh Government has set a target of net zero emissions by 2050 and is, through our co-operation agreement, examining advice that could potentially bring this forward to 2050. The climate and nature crises, interwoven as they are, are the greatest threats facing our country, our world. So, achieving net zero as quickly as possible is vital. On Thursday 8 September, Liz Truss set out the UK Government's response to high energy prices, including accelerating new oil and gas licensing and lifting the ban on fracking. The newly appointed Secretary of State for business, Jacob Rees-Mogg, has made his scepticism about tackling climate change clear. He is an investor in oil and coal mining through Somerset Capital Management and has recently stated, and I quote,
'We need to be thinking about exploiting every last cubic inch of gas from the North Sea'.
This would spell disaster for the climate and would severely undermine efforts to reach net zero. So, what I'd like to know, Minister, is what discussions the Welsh Government has had, or plans to have, with the UK Government about how the implications of their new energy policies will impact on our net zero plans in Wales.