The Decarbonisation Strategy Panel

Part of 1. Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government – in the Senedd at 2:11 pm on 28 September 2022.

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Photo of Rebecca Evans Rebecca Evans Labour 2:11, 28 September 2022

I'm very grateful for the question, and I've really been pleased with the work of the panel, which actually continued right the way through the pandemic and was able to keep on delivering, because we obviously have a commitment for public sector organisations to meet the net-zero 2030 ambition, and we're doing that through the panel by providing technical and financial support for renewable energy and energy efficiency, of course, and that goes through our energy service.

The energy service itself saw £28 million invested in 43 energy efficiency projects across 25 organisations. They include health boards, local authorities, national parks and colleges, and they have a range of projects, for example, from LED street lamp installations to low-carbon heat solutions. And there is a range of activity that is obviously going on in that particular space.

I think that the panel has made significant progress since it was established, because it has also supported local authorities to develop their own commitments for the Net Zero Wales plan, which we published last autumn. So, demonstrating how each local authority will make its own commitment towards that drive. And it's also overseeing a programme of work that supports the delivery of those commitments and is providing strategic direction, then, to the WLGA climate change support programme, which we fund via Welsh Government to the tune of around £300,000 a year for five years. So, I'm really pleased with the work of the panel. It's really important work and, of course, if the energy crisis tells us anything, it's about the importance of investing in renewable energy.