Labour ministers in Cardiff Bay have been accused of being “all talk and no action” when it comes to tackling climate change by the Welsh Conservatives.
Paul Davies MS challenged First Minister Mark Drakeford over what his government has done since declaring a climate emergency in 2019 during today’s FMQs.
Mr Davies told the Senedd: “The reality is that not enough has been done since that declaration to seriously address climate change in Wales.
“Progress to date has not been fast enough to ensure Wales will have net zero carbon emissions by 2050. And, let me remind you, that a report by the committee on climate change told us that Wales was not on track for its previous 80% target, let alone net zero.”
Mr Davies told the First Minister: “There are towns and cities in Wales that have reported illegal and dangerous levels of air pollution in recent years, and air pollution is thought to contribute to over 2,000 premature deaths.
“But we are yet to see a Clean Air Act, despite it being one of your own leadership manifesto commitments back in 2018. And on top of that, one of your own ministers has admitted we’re way behind where we need to be on tree planting targets, with only 80 hectares of new woodland planted in 2019-20. The lowest number for a decade.”
Speaking outside the chamber, Welsh Conservative MS Paul Davies, said:
“It is abundantly clear that Labour ministers have done very little to tackle climate change since declaring an emergency more than two years ago.
“We need to see the First Minister and his ministerial colleagues take serious decisions, which matches the severity of the situation we are facing in Wales and the rest of the world.
“They are all talk and no action. We are facing a climate catastrophe and it’s high time ministers get serious and set out specific actions on how we are going to address the climate crisis in Wales.”