Free pass rescinded - Transport and Climate Change
Speech to the Highway Authorities and Utilities Committee, 19th May 2022 Thanks for the chance to make a contribution. In the Welsh Government transport now sits in the broader Climate Change portfolio. Our First Minister has crafted one large Ministry that is bringing together the principal drivers of carbon emissions to give us the best chance of delivering on our legal commitment to reach NetZero by 2050. Under the leadership of two Ministers for Climate Change Transport sits alongside planning, housing, energy, the environment, and regeneration to help us to align our policies. It’s a big portfolio; meeting NetZero is an even bigger challenge. Transport has until now been given a free pass when it comes to emissions reductions on the grounds that it is a key economic driver. The UN Panel on Climate Change is pretty unequivocal in its analysis that if we don’t get emissions under control our economy faces catastrophic damage. Al Gore called it an ‘inconvenient truth’,