The Welsh Government and Plaid Cymru have jointly invited an independent group, to explore how Wales can speed up its transition to net zero, and how amending its target to 2035 from 2050 could be made possible.
The ‘Group’, led by former Environment Minister Jane Davidson, is tasked with:
- finding the best examples of transformative change from Wales and around the world and bringing them to Wales;
- challenging the Welsh Government and Senedd to go further and faster;
- imagining what a fairer, more sustainable future looks like for the Welsh nation.
The Group is looking for the most imaginative solutions to inform 10-year deliverable plans from 2025 to 2035 and is focussed on the following five Net Zero 2035 Challenges:
- How could Wales feed itself by 2035? OPEN NOW https://netzero2035.wales/evidence-submission/
- How could Wales meet energy needs by 2035 whilst phasing out fossil fuels?
- How could Wales heat and build homes and workplaces by 2035?
- How could people and places be connected across Wales by 2035?
- What could education, jobs and work, look like across Wales by 2035?
Circular Economy is a cross cutting theme and will be considered across all challenge areas. Professor Gavin Bunting, Chair of CERIG and member of the Net Zero by 2035 Challenge Group, said he was delighted to be part of the group:“The group recognises the importance of circular economy in reducing emissions – only 7.2 per cent of the 100 plus billion tonnes/year of materials extracted are reused. Embedding circular economy and doubling this circularity rate, through processes such as lifetime extension, material efficiency, and reusable components, has the potential to reduce emissions by 39 per cent.
“My ambition for the group is to inspire transformative change, which embraces the Wellbeing for Future Generations Act, to deliver a sustainable and just transition. Wales, once again, can lead the way and demonstrate what can be achieved when there is real commitment and strong ambition.”
Dr Jennifer Rudd, CERIG member from the School of Management, Swansea University said: “We are becoming more aware of the climate crisis and what it means for us, but societal, political and economic inertia prevails. The WNZCG exists to imagine the future by pushing the art of the possible.
“A group of bold thinkers, we aim to deliver recommendations to Welsh Government that will fundamentally change how we view our future, hopefully with ripple effects around the world. By hypothetically bringing forward the net zero target to 2035 we hope to ignite a flame of hope amongst the Welsh population and the Welsh government that net zero is not only well within our reach but will bring us a bright and bold future.”
Now the group wants communities from across Wales and the world to share their experiences and ideas about tackling a series of key challenges. Feedback is welcome until June 28 on the first of these:
How could Wales feed itself by 2035?
The other Net Zero 2035 Challenges the group will be examining are:
- How could Wales meet energy needs by 2035 whilst phasing out fossil fuels?
- How could Wales heat and build homes and workplaces by 2035?
- How could people and places be connected across Wales by 2035?
- What could education, jobs and work, look like across Wales by 2035?
The launch dates for these will be announced in due course and the group’s work is scheduled to run until summer 2024.Find out more about the Group and its work
Membership
The Group is comprised of a broad range of experts selected from across academia, public and private institutions. Efforts were made to select experts in Welsh institutions, those with a research focus on Wales and those with wider UK and international reach linked to best practice. Key organisations already engaged in net zero delivery also participate in the Group as observers, including appointees from the Welsh Government and the UK Climate Change Committee. The Group members are:
- Mr Paul Allen, Centre for Alternative Technology
- Mr Jyoti Banerjee, North Star Transition
- Prof. Gavin Bunting, Swansea University
- Mr Ben Burgraaf, Net Zero Industry Wales (observer)
- Dr David Clubb, National Infrastructure Commission Wales (observer)
- Ms Jane Davidson, Chair
- Ms Sarah Dickins, independent
- Mr Will Evans, The Oxford Farming Conference
- Dr David Joffe, Committee on Climate Change (observer)
- Mr Keith Jones, National Trust
- Prof. Hillary Kennedy, University of Bangor
- Mr Matthew Knight, Siemens Energy
- Prof. Karen Morrow, Swansea University
- Mr Jon Oates, Welsh Government (observer)
- Dr Eurgain Powell, public sector
- Mr Ben Rawlence, Black Mountains College
- Mr Andy Regan, Nesta Cymru (observer)
- Dr Jennifer Rudd, Swansea University
- Rachel Sharp, Wildlife Trusts Wales
- Dr Rhian Mari Thomas, Green Finance Institute
- Dr Judith Thornton, Aberystwyth University
- Prof. Lorraine Whitmarsh, University of Bath
- Mr Simon Wright, University of Wales Trinity Saint David
- Office of the Future Generations Commissioner for Wales (observer)
- Wales Youth Parliament (observer)
The Group is supported by a secretariat, consisting of Mr Stanley Townsend (Secretary) and Ms Olafiyin Taiwo (Minutes secretary). The Wales Centre for Public Policy has also been asked by the Welsh Government to support the work of the Group as an independent institution. Dan Bristow, Director of Policy and Practice at the Centre is leading this work.
