Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 3:38 pm on 28 February 2023.
On the starting point, the strategy has been published, it's available on the Welsh Government website. And it's not just the actions; I think the Member would find some interest in the eight emission sectors, because one of them is residential buildings. We're looking at what happens already as an emissions sector, as well as opportunities to make sure that fewer emissions actually take place in the construction, but then in the operation of residential buildings. On your point about energy-efficient homes, my point is that we need support now for costs that people pay now—and I know that the Member will have people who are really struggling in her own constituency, as indeed will we all—as well as investing in efficiency. That's both retrofitting homes that exist already—and I look at my own constituency; there are large parts of my constituency with very old housing stock, where there's a challenge about how you retrofit—but it's also then about the new homes that we expect to be creating. On your point about solar panelling, where people have got those skills, they're very busy, because there's real demand out there. The challenge is how we can do more in that area that will help both the new homes and also retrofitting a range of other homes as well. There are real opportunities to keep that money locally as well. One of the things that we're looking to do in the green business loan scheme that I referenced is to try to make sure that we can direct people to support to help improve the energy efficiency of their business and to keep that money as locally as possible. Most businesses in Wales are keen to be able to do both of those things. So, I do have a level of optimism, as well as understanding the real imperative I know the Member regularly brings to this debate about the need to do this and the economic return in doing so, and what it will do in dealing with the climate and nature emergencies we also have as well.