Six months after the Welsh Government declared a climate emergency, the National Assembly for Wales’ Climate Change, Environment and Rural Affairs Committee has expressed disappointment that the action promised in the announcement has not materialised. Instead, it says it has been a continuation of "business as usual".
Today (18 December) the Committee has released its second annual report on the Welsh Government’s progress in addressing climate change. The focus of the Committee’s work in 2019 has been the Welsh Government’s decarbonisation plan, “Prosperity for All: A low carbon Wales”.
Prosperity for All: A low carbon Wales
The Committee has raised concerns that many of the policies and proposals contained in the Welsh Government’s Plan, 76 in all, existed long before its climate emergency.
The Welsh Government told the Committee that it is unable to be specific about the cost of those policies or their impact on delivering emissions reductions. In the absence of such information, the Committee found it difficult to see how the Welsh Government can assess the impact or value for money of its decarbonisation policies. Previously members had expressed disappointment with the lack of focus on decarbonisation by the Welsh Government while scrutinising its draft Budget.
Net-zero target
The Welsh Government has said it wishes to go further than its new target of 95% emissions reduction and aspires to reach net-zero by 2050. However, the UK Climate Change Committee has said "On current understanding, it could not credibly reach net-zero greenhouse gasses by 2050." The Committee is questioning how achievable this "aspiration" is. This is particularly the case given the amount of emissions in non-devolved areas.
How much can the Welsh Government actually achieve?
Responsibility for carbon emissions is divided between the Welsh Government and the UK Government. The UK Government is responsible for 60% of policy areas, such as energy, that result in Welsh emissions. The Committee believes the Welsh Government should be more upfront about the limits of its potential impact on Welsh emissions reductions.
This is not about avoiding accountability, but the opposite. The committee believes that the Welsh public should be able to understand more fully the Welsh Government's successes and failures. It should also be able to hold the UK Government to account for its performance in non-devolved areas. Given that the Welsh Government is dependent on the effectiveness of UK Government policies to achieve its targets, it needs to explain what it will do if there is a change of UK Government policy that threatens its ability to meet its targets.
Also, the Committee’s report on the draft Welsh Government Budget expressed disappointment about the lack of emphasis on decarbonisation.
Mike Hedges, Chair of the Climate Change, Environment and Rural Affairs Committee said:
“As a Committee, we’re concerned that a ‘climate change emergency’ could be seen as just words and has not resulted in urgent action. We don’t want things to continue as business as usual, it is an emergency and should be treated as one.
“We welcome the Welsh Government’s ambition for net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 but we need to know a lot more about how this can be achieved, particularly as policy for much of Wales’ emissions lies with the UK Government.
“We need urgent action and our Committee has provided a series of recommendations for the Welsh Government. Today we’re calling on the Welsh Government outline details of actions it has taken since the declaration of a climate emergency.”