Having led a cross-examination on the issue during last week’s Senedd Climate Change Committee meeting, the Welsh Conservative Shadow Minister for Climate Change, Janet Finch-Saunders MS, has urged the Welsh Government to fast-track the introduction of long-term environmental governance structures, outlining that Ministers are presently “running down the clock on this issue.”
The intervention comes following her endorsement of a blog post by Wales Environment Link (WEL) in which the campaigning network decried how “Wales has achieved comparatively little” on the issue of Environmental Governance. WEL is a network of environmental, countryside and heritage non-governmental organisations working across Wales.
In the blog post, the network writes:
“It has been almost four years since the Welsh Government promised to take the first legislative opportunity to place environmental principles into law and close the governance gap. The revised Programme for Government includes yet another commitment to work towards the establishment of an environmental governance body. But, a year after the end of the transition period, Wales is now the only part of the UK that has no statutory measures in place, affording us one of the weakest environmental governance regimes in western Europe."
During the first spokesperson questions on the Climate Change portfolio for 2022, Janet also raised concerns around the funding of peatland restoration. Mrs Finch-Saunders urged the Minister to commit to fast track any application from Natural Resources Wales for restorative peatland flood management works, given that a representative of the Wildlife Trusts in Wales made clear to a recent CPG on Biodiversity meeting that it would take over 100 years to restore all peatland in Wales if we continued on the present trajectory.
Commenting after the session, Janet said:
“In June 2021, the Senedd declared a nature emergency. We voted in favour of introducing a legally binding requirement to reverse biodiversity loss through statutory targets. Seven months later and we are still waiting for proactive action, with Wales Environment Link rightly pointing out that the scale and pace of action needed to address the nature crisis is not in place.
“As one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world, the Welsh Government needs to lead the way on setting targets that will drive action and prevent another lost decade for nature. Part and parcel of this work must be the introduction of new environment governance structures.
“During Climate Change Committee last week, the Minister informed me that the timing of any work on long-term environment governance structures will have to wait until after complex discussions with their coalition partners. With the Interim Assessor granted only a two-year contract, we are running down the clock on this issue.
“It is vital that the Welsh Government review and update the timeline for preparatory works on environmental governance, replicating best practice from those bodies already established in England and Scotland, so that we may fast-track this matter in a manner that recognises the seriousness of the nature and climate emergencies.
“It seems clear to me that the Welsh Government’s cooperation agreement with Plaid Cymru is delaying the delivery of a green Brexit for Wales.”
ENDS
