Diolch, Llywydd. This debate is about the responsibility we hold for the actions we take and the reverberations of that responsibility as they stretch and swell across the globe. It is a debate about the impact of our actions, the consequences that our consumption habits have on people and places on the other side of our planet, and it is a debate about choices—the choices we all have, whether we're aware of them or not, to do things differently—and the choices that Governments have to empower their citizens to make those choices wisely. I use the word 'wisely' because George Bernard Shaw said,

'We are made wise not by the recollection of our past, but by the responsibility for our future.'

It's that future that I'd like us all, in this debate, to keep at the front and centre of our thoughts, because wisdom can only truly percolate through when we are learning not just from something but for that future. So, what responsibility does Wales hold? The Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 requires Wales to establish itself as a globally responsible nation. That means that, as well as taking actions here in Wales that will help people's lives in our nation, we need to be mindful of how our supply chains entangle and strangle other nations, how the choices we make about the things we eat and wear and invest in, how all of these things, have ripple effects that swell and grow into a tidal wave of waste, of ruin, of trauma in other parts of our world. We may not see their effects, but that does not make them any less real or terrible in its truest sense.

There is a sickness in our society—the sickness of indifference, the comfortable contempt we show towards that which is out of our line of sight. Each of us like to think that we do our thing, that we do our own best things for the planet, but how many of us use soap or cosmetics made with palm oil? How many of the desserts we eat contain cocoa that's not fair trade or ethically sourced? How much of the livestock feed we use for animals is leading to the extinction of other species of animals in other parts of the world, like the northern tiger, wildcats in South America, orangutans in Sumatra? Our everyday choices, insignificant as they may seem in isolation, set events in motion and they blow open the quietly catastrophic effects felt by that insidious sense of 'out of sight, out of mind'.

Llywydd, we cannot stay blind to these effects any longer. I'll set out some of the starkest statistics, and much of this comes from the fantastic 'Wales and Global Responsibility' report, commissioned by Size of Wales, WWF Cymru and RSPB Cymru. Their findings include that an area equivalent to 40 per cent of Wales's land mass, 823,000 hectares, was used overseas to grow Welsh imports of cocoa, palm, beef, leather, natural rubber, soy, timber, pulp and paper in an average year between 2011 and 2018. Much of this land—30 per cent of it—is in countries at high or very high risk of deforestation, species extinction or social issues like child labour and abuse of indigenous people's rights. The process of converting this land overseas and destroying those habitats results in 1.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide every year—the equivalent of 4 per cent of Wales's total domestic and imported goods carbon footprint.

I worry often, Llywydd, that, in these debates, when Members reel off statistics, people switch off. Our brains can't process that amount of horror, of devastation. So, as well as those statistics, I'll say this: people's lives are being destroyed by our greed and our stubborn refusal to change our habits, and the blood in our supply chains stains the conscience of the world, but very few consumers will be aware of any of this. Powers over labelling rest with the UK Government, and they do need to act to empower people to understand all of this.

But there's a great deal that the Welsh Government can and should be doing as well. In our debate, we'll set out why the Welsh Government must strengthen the economic contract by developing relationships with businesses around responsible growth and ethical practices, requiring signatories to commit to using supply chains that are free from deforestation and social exploitation. Luke Fletcher will set out this in greater detail. All of us in Wales have a part to play. We each need to reduce our dependence on imported commodities that drive this deforestation. Businesses need to be supported to localise their supply chains. Mabon ap Gwynfor will set out how this can be done through a robust community food strategy. 

The fragility of global supply chains has been highlighted by Brexit, the Ukraine war and the cost-of-living crisis. Our way of living is not sustainable. But those people in other parts of the world, their ways of living will simply cease if we don't change how we act, which is what Heledd Fychan will focus her remarks on.

Wales and the world is at a crossroads in history. The UN has warned that, if we don't change course on climate change, we risk creating an unliveable planet. Now, we in Wales have led the way by declaring both climate and nature emergencies. Those words are important, and we are taking steps towards net zero by 2035 through the co-operation agreement, but, by that date, if we only change the things that we can see in our own nation, in front of our own eyes, we will have casually permitted vast injustices to be perpetrated in our name. That is not the legacy we should leave for future generations. I look forward to hearing the debate.