Oral - Climate Change Commission for Wales

I am pleased to report on the most recent meeting of the Climate Change Commission for Wales, held on 14 May. The minutes of this meeting are available online on the Welsh Assembly Government website. I have provided an overview of the actions undertaken by the Assembly Government since the commission last met in March. The key updates include: the presentation of a revised proposed environmental legislative competence Order for pre-legislative scrutiny, which, if passed, will provide the Assembly Government with new powers over waste, pollution and nuisances; the launch of the technical advice note on planning for climate change and sustainable buildings, which will ensure that planning policy fully supports our emissions reduction and adaptation objectives; the launch of the consultation on the new waste strategy, which focuses on waste minimisation and eco-design, both of which will help to reduce indirect and non-carbon-dioxide emissions; and the launch of the climate challenge alongside the Energy Saving Trust and the Carbon Trust, which encourages pubs and rugby clubs to promote action within their communities.

I have also participated in a number of events and visits, including the WWF Earth Hour, the May Day summit, the unveiling of the solar panels at Ysgol Bro Aled Primary School in Conwy, the British-Irish Council meeting, which focused on climate change, and the launch of the Energy Saving Trust’s citizens’ guide at the Wales Millennium Centre. Further updates include supporting a major workshop on the carbon reduction commitment organised by the Environment Agency, and supporting the continuing work on low-carbon regions being led by the Sustainable Development Commission, which is working towards integrating climate change more thoroughly in the decisions of the spatial plan area groups. That ties in with our existing work to create Europe’s largest low-carbon zone in the Heads of the Valleys region. At the end of last year, the Deputy Minister for Regeneration launched a programme to improve energy efficiency in homes across the region, for which £12 million was made available from the strategic capital investment fund.

The first of three networking events to encourage the sharing of best practice between people leading activity on sustainable development and climate change was held in Llangollen and featured a wide range of grass-roots organisations. There was an announcement by the Minister for Rural Affairs of the new agri-environment schemes,

which have a strong focus on climate change, including preserving soil carbon and support for on-farm renewables; the announcement by the Deputy First Minister of a £6 million investment in park and ride facilities along the Rhymney valley and Taff Vale railway lines, and the launch of a flexible support for businesses scheme to provide advice for all businesses on cutting their carbon footprint and minimising waste.

There is also the announcement of the first three carbon budgets by the UK Government and the roll-out of smart meters to all households by 2020 along with the announcement of Sir John Krebs as chair of the adaptation sub-committee of the committee on climate change; there is also the launch of the new England and Wales flood forecasting centre and the consultation on the draft Flood and Water Management Bill.

Commission members provided updates on the work under way in their sectors and organisations. The commission also received an update on the work of the low/zero-carbon hub, and the agriculture and land use sub-group. The commission received a presentation from two of our new climate change champions. The presentation included the videos submitted for their entry into the champions competition, an outline of the activities in which they had taken part since becoming champions, and some very exciting ideas for future work that they intended to carry out.

The commission received an update on the announcement of the UK fiscal budget and the first three carbon budgets. This prompted a discussion on the best methodology for measuring our progress towards reducing emissions of greenhouse gases in Wales. The points raised will help inform our work on reporting progress towards the 3 per cent target.

The commission began the process of producing a statement on its desired outcomes for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change conference in Copenhagen later this year. The statement will focus on the need for a strong international agreement on reducing emissions and on the critical role of sub-national Governments in achieving these reductions. The statement will also play an important role during other commission activity, and commission members intend to use it as part of their presence at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival 2009 in Washington later this month.

The commission had an in-depth discussion on the most recent draft of the second stage of the climate change strategy consultation. The second stage details the Welsh Assembly Government’s programme of action to achieve annual 3 per cent reductions in greenhouse gas emissions by 2011. The commission were generally very supportive of the consultation document’s content.  There was a wide range of suggestions for improving the draft and the commission was particularly keen to ensure that the consultation makes it as clear as possible that tackling climate change is not only a Government responsibility, but will require action from across Welsh society.

Involving the commission at all stages of the development of the climate change strategy will help to ensure this wider engagement and we want to build on this during the consultation period and in developing the final strategy. During the final part of the meeting, the commission discussed how best to perform this role as leaders and ambassadors within their organisations and sectors. The outcomes of this discussion will feed into future commission work. The next meeting of the climate change commission will be on 25 June, and will include the launch of the consultation on the climate change strategy programme of action.