‘Let’s get together and act’

Here’s what First Minister Mark Drakeford says we must do to fight climate change

TACKLING the climate emergency requires a level of collective action we have not seen since the days of the Second World War.

The evidence of why we need to change is all around us.

Over Christmas there were families in the north of England who couldn’t celebrate in their own homes because of flooding.

And the annual New Year fireworks display over the Sydney Opera House was overshadowed by the heart-breaking images of scorched koalas and raging flames.

The wildfires of Australia have been made much worse by climate change – last year out-of-control fires burned across the globe, from the Amazon to the Arctic.

In California, people and wildlife were made homeless; in South-East Asia, acrid air caused public health catastrophes wherever the wind carried the smoke.

In the words of Greta Thunberg, our house is on fire.

So, what do we do?

We get together. We fight it. We act. Climate change, species extinction and plastic pollution are huge problems but tackling them is not an insurmountable challenge.

However, the consequences of not acting are fatal.

Wales was one of the first countries in the world to declare a climate emergency last year.

Now we are responding robustly ourselves and by working with others.

Among the things we are doing to tackle climate change and biodiversity loss is creating a National Forest for Wales.

Planting and growing the right network of trees will suck damaging pollutants and carbon from our atmosphere, provide an important material for uses such as construction, regenerate soils and degraded land, and clean the water in our rivers while protecting us against flooding.

A National Forest for Wales will build on the success of the Wales Coastal Path and provide a unique tourism opportunity.

And trees keep wildlife and people alike happy – they have been scientifically proven to improve our health and wellbeing.

A National Forest for Wales extending the full length of the country will be a sanctuary for generations to come.

Another place where many of us find sanctuary is in our homes. But currently they account for about 9% of greenhouse gas emissions.

We’ve allocated £25m in our Budget in 2020-21 to build near-zero-carbon, climate-friendly homes.

And, earlier this week, we unveiled ambitious plans that from 2025 all new homes built in Wales will be powered from clean energy sources.

Wales is a world leader in recycling – but we need to go further and move towards an economy which produces less wastes and ultimately no waste at all.

We are drafting bold plans to rid Wales of single-use plastics.

We are working closely with local authorities to make it easier to own electric vehicles.

This won’t happen overnight, but we’re committed to supporting everyone to make the transition.

We’ve set aside £29m in the Budget to support the change to lowemission vehicles. There are now 900 publicly accessible charging connectors in Wales, up from 670 last April.

We’ve dedicated £40m in grant funding to help councils make walking, cycling and getting the bus or train more popular options.

Wales is a country on the move, but a country which opts to use the car first.

We want to make public transport and active travel a more attractive alternative or encourage other options, such as car-pooling.

This will help us to clean the air we breathe and reduce emissions.

We are the only country to have a Future Generations Act.

This means that the government and public bodies must consider the long-term impacts of the decisions they are making today.

Sometimes this means that the decisions we make are difficult but I want this Wales to be a Wales our future generations can and want to inherit.