Written Statement: Wales's Global Climate Leadership (1 October ...
Tackling the climate emergency and meeting commitments made under the Paris Agreement takes unwavering, unapologetic and urgent global action. That means taking climate action at home and showing climate leadership on the global stage.
At New York Climate Week last week, I was very pleased that the UK Government signed up to the Coalition for High Ambition Multilevel Partnerships (CHAMP) for Climate Action. The Welsh Government, along with our counterparts in Northern Ireland and Scotland, have been calling on the UK Government to join CHAMP. Indeed, while in New York, I again encouraged the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero to confirm that the UK would join.
This important step forward represents a refreshed level of climate ambition and leadership from the UK Government, encouraged and shared by the Welsh Government. It underlines our shared commitment to deliver concrete climate action. The Coalition’s pledge reaffirms that collaborative and science-based climate action coordinated between all levels of government – including cities, towns, states and regions – is critical. It emphasises that working together unlocks more potential for emission reduction, building resilience, and avoiding severe climate impacts; the innovation and perseverance needed to reduce emissions to keep global heating to under 2°C often happens at local and regional levels. I look forward with optimism to renewed cross-UK dialogue, coordination and mutual support to deliver our climate ambitions. Climate Week New York offered further opportunities for Wales to show global leadership in tackling climate change. As a founding member of the Under2 Coalition, I was able to share Wales’s success stories, including how we have reduced methane emissions from waste by cutting how much municipal waste ends up at landfill by 98% in the two decades to 2022, and the bold steps we are taking to enable and incentivise renewable energy development through Trydan Gwyrdd Cymru. The discussions also gave an opportunity to meet and exchange ideas with other government leaders facing similar challenges to Wales – of a just industrial transformation, delivering green growth and job creation
The Under2 Coalition’s priorities articulate our common challenges: accelerating a just transition away from fossil fuels, reducing methane emissions, mobilising climate finance, and enhancing regional and devolved governments’ role in Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and the Paris process.
Ahead of the next UNFCCC Conference of the Parties (COP29) in Baku, Azerbaijan in November, and in 2025 in Brazil, I look forward to continuing the constructive dialogue with my counterparts in Scotland, Northern Ireland and in the UK Government on how to further show global leadership on tackling the causes and impacts of climate change.
Meanwhile, the United Nations Summit of the Future, which took place in parallel to the Climate Week, concluded with the adoption of a landmark Pact for the Future’. The Pact includes a pledge to accelerate action towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), re-commits nations to the Paris Agreement on climate change, and includes a ‘Declaration on Future Generations’, which pushes for decision-making to focus on the well-being of future generations. I welcome the Pact’s emphasis on multilateralism, commitment to the SDGs, and use of foresight to tackle global challenges and help safeguard future generations.
Other nations and regions across the world look to Wales as an example of global leadership on sustainable development and we are proud of our Well-being of Future Generations Act. I am pleased to offer my thanks and congratulations to those in Wales who have influenced the development of the Pact, including the Future Generations Commissioner for Wales, Derek Walker, his predecessor Sophie Howe, and our former colleague Jane Davidson. This pivotal moment represents an important step forward for the UN and shows how innovative, progressive legislation in Wales can have a global impact.
Tackling the climate and nature emergency is the challenge of our lifetimes. Meeting that challenge requires us to be ambitious in reducing our emissions and adapting to climate change in Wales. It also requires us to continue showing strong climate leadership internationally. By working together we can move faster, achieve more, and help build a fairer, greener future.
