Tuesday 05 Jul 2011 @ 08:25
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WWF Cymru: Next five years are critical for Welsh Government to meet green targets

WWF Cymru is urging the Welsh Government to deliver on its ‘One Planet’ promise of making Wales a sustainable nation, in the face of climate change and rising energy bills.

In Cardiff last week the Charity will bring together leading experts to discuss the issues facing Carwyn Jones' new administration and launch a new WWF Cymru report - Embedding the ‘One Planet’ Aspiration in Welsh Government 2011 - which sets out how the Welsh Government can deliver on its bold commitments to a greener Wales.
 
Speakers include Welsh climate scientist Sir John Houghton, who co-chaired an international panel which won the Nobel Peace Prize and who will use the event to set out the scale of the challenge ahead.
 
Anne Meikle, Head of WWF Cymru said:
 
“The Welsh Government faces huge challenges in the next five years, but it also has a golden opportunity. It has already established bold targets and ambitions to cut emissions, produce more renewable energy and dramatically reduce Wales' use of resources to our fair share. Therefore we must make significant progress on this by 2020 and in this Assembly term it will be critical for whole of government and Welsh public services to deliver. In particular, we need to help Welsh industry make the transition to a low-carbon, sustainable future.”
 
The charity says that in the face of rising living costs, the need for the new Government to deliver a more sustainable nation is as pressing for Welsh families as it is for people and wildlife around the world.
 
The last government set out its ‘One Planet’ vision, of Wales using only its fair share of the earth’s resources. At present, if everyone in the world lived as we do in Wales, we would need around two and a half planets to sustain us.
 
This report says that the next five years are ‘crucial’ for new ministers to delivery on that aim.
It recommends that government makes it clear from the top that cutting Wales’ resource use and carbon emissions are priorities for the whole of government and the public sector. It also calls on the Welsh Government to drive delivery of the ‘One Planet’ goals, making staff accountable and reporting regularly on the impacts of policies and spending.
 
All parties in the Assembly are committed to cutting our greenhouse gas emissions by 40% by 2020 and WWF Cymru is now urging the new Minister for Business, Enterprise and Science, Edwina Hart, to take this commitment into account and review economic development plans to ensure they are focussed on supporting Welsh business to achieve a low carbon economy.
 
Anne Meikle added:
 
“These are difficult times. We’re using the earth’s resources more quickly than they can be replenished, which threatens our way of life in Wales, as well as people and nature around the world. By taking action now –such as insulating homes, generating more of our energy from renewable sources and reducing waste – we can build a future where people and nature thrive. As the pressure on resources increases, we also face the prospect of rising costs. We’ve already seen price hikes and it’s vital that food and energy are affordable for Welsh households.”
 
The report found that that the Welsh Government has made a ‘commendable start’ to tackling Wales ecological and carbon ‘footprints’ – which measure our use of natural resources and the effect Wales is having on climate change.
 
It reveals that there have been positive actions such as supporting local food and investment in renewable energy projects, but not all policies and departments have recognised the ‘One Planet’ goal.
 
Editor's notes
 
1.      The new WWF Cymru report Progress in Embedding the 'One Planet' Aspiration in Welsh Government 2011 will be published at www.wwf.org.uk/wales on Thursday 30 June. Advance copies available on request, under embargo.
 
2.      The report will be launched at the WWF Cymru event New Government, New Powers, Big Opportunity for a One Planet Future at the Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff which takes place from 11:00-15:00 on Thursday 30 June. The media are invited to attend the event. More information is available on request.
 
3.      In 2009 the last Welsh Government declared “Within the lifetime of a generation we want to see Wales using only its fair share of the earth’s resources” in its Sustainable Development Scheme One Wales: One Planet.
 
4.      In 2010 WWF-UK published its latest Living Planet report which shows humanity’s demands on natural resources are sky-rocketing to 50 per cent more than the earth can sustain. This has resulted in a 30 per cent decline in species and wildlife populations globally since 1970.: http://wales.wwf.org.uk/what_we_do/changing_the_way_we_live/living_planet_report_2010/
 
5.      Progress in Embedding the 'One Planet' Aspiration in Welsh Government 2011 was produced for WWF Cymru by Dr Alan Netherwood (Netherwood Sustainable Futures) and builds on his earlier report for WWF Cymru: Progress in Embedding The ‘One Planet’ Aspiration In Welsh Government (July 2010)
For further information, to arrange interviews or to request a copy of the report, please contact Richard Nosworthy, tel: 029 2045 0612 / 07980 852020, richardnosworthy@gmail.com
 

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