The National Assembly for Wales’ Economy, Infrastructure and Skills Committee is today launching an inquiry into the decarbonisation of transport.
The Committee will investigate whether the Welsh Government’s vision for decarbonising transport is innovative and whether it is adequately supporting and encouraging the use of new technology.
The Welsh Government is currently developing the next Wales Transport Strategy while the Environment (Wales) Act 2016 committed Wales to major carbon emissions reductions. The Committee is looking into whether these targets set by the Government are achievable and ambitious enough.
Over the coming months, the Committee will hear evidence from environmental experts, transport organisations and the UK government on how best to tackle carbon emissions from transport.
Russell George AM, chair of the Economy, Infrastructure and Skills Committee said: “The National Assembly for Wales was the first parliament in the world to declare a climate emergency and, for us to honour this, we need actions from the Welsh Government, not just words. We need to ensure that the targets set are ambitious and live up to the standards we set ourselves.
“We know that transport is a significant source of carbon emissions. As a nation, if we are to meet our reduction targets, we need to be innovative – we need to promote and support the latest green technology.
“I would urge people to respond to our consultation to help us better understand how we can reduce carbon emissions and hold the Welsh Government to account.”
The consultation will run until 16 August, and the Committee will consider its written evidence in September before deciding which specific areas to focus on in Committee hearings later in the Autumn term.
The Economy, Infrastructure and Skills Committee is looking at decarbonisation of transport and has previously carried out inquiries into Electric Vehicle charging points and the effectiveness of Active Travel legislation.