Janet’s Contributions 01/10/14
Welsh Conservatives Debate: Climate Change
15:55
Janet Finch-Saunders
Point 4 of the motion:
‘Calls upon the Welsh Government to encourage a wider range of renewable energies, including but not limited to, marine renewables, anaerobic digestion and hydropower’.
I really welcome the opportunity to speak in today’s debate. As mentioned previously by relevant Ministers, Wales has great potential to benefit from the expansion of renewable energy provision, and we all recognise that, in order to slow the process of climate change, a strong move away from the use of fossil fuels is required. We need to use a variety of renewable energy sources and those that have a positive impact on more than just the environment. Indeed, the relatively new industries of renewable and low-carbon energy provision have, in recent years, created tens of thousands of jobs for our people in Wales. The continuation of growth in these industries would serve as a much-needed boost to our Welsh economy.
Not unrelated to the current economic climate is the issue of fuel poverty. The latest statistics show that approximately 30% of Welsh households were experiencing fuel poverty, yet, in England, the figure was dramatically lower at just 10%. Surely the greater provision of renewable energy would go a long way towards reducing the level of fuel poverty here in Wales.
The importance of renewable energy creation is clear. It is imperative that the Welsh Government consider a variety of methods to achieve this. The Gwynt y Môr windfarm, off the coast of Llandudno bay in my constituency, is a definite insight into Welsh Labour policy and Labour Government policy. Although due to be completed by the end of this year, this was a scheme that saw 160 massive wind turbines, giving little regard to the potential impact on the area’s tourism economy, upon which so many jobs depend. Many studies, such as the one by the John Muir Trust, have proven the inefficiency of windfarms and highlighted their unreliability due to dependence on weather conditions. It is a huge disappointment that the local authority and, in fact, the thousands of people who objected to that scheme were ignored by this Government. For this reason, along with the impact that turbines have on local communities, I urge the Welsh Government to carefully examine the alternatives.
I suggest a greater consideration of hydropower. We as humans have been harnessing the power of water for thousands of years for an array of tasks from sawing wood to grinding flour. For over a century now, falling water has provided people across the world with hydroelectricity. Hydropower is often described as being one of the most reliable and least environmentally intrusive of the renewable energy technologies and is currently responsible for 16% of the world’s energy supply. However, in Wales, it accounts for only 13% of our overall renewably sourced energy requirements. In 2010, the Welsh Government, along with the Department of Energy and Climate Change, funded an assessment of hydropower sources in Wales. The assessment reported that Wales had the potential to generate up to 63,000 kW of electricity using this method. In the same year, Environment Agency Wales identified 4,112 sites with the potential to create hydroelectric power. If hydropower, which has been shown to be more reliable and environmentally friendly than its alternatives, could be utilised to such a large extent across Wales, why then are there still only a handful of hydroelectric power stations?
In my constituency, there is the River Conwy, which has long been under consideration as a possible hydroelectric power generation site. RWE UK is currently in the process of developing plans for the Conwy Falls project. It is hoped that, should the plan go ahead, 2,700 households will be supplied with their required energy. Also in Conwy valley, in Dolwyddelen, we have a very small scheme that has been put together by local residents, who want to generate enough for their own little village. I urge the Welsh Government to support schemes like Conwy Falls, tidal lagoons—we have one of those coming into the constituency of my colleague, Darren Millar, I hope. These are reliable and environmentally friendly projects, and they are less obtrusive than the construction of more windfarms. It is time for the Welsh Government to up its game, to train our youngsters to have the high level of skills required for these well-paying jobs, and to work with industry leaders to ensure that Wales plays its own part in terms of the climate change agenda.
16:00
Rhodri Glyn Thomas
Galwaf ar y Gweinidog Cyfoeth Naturiol, Carl Sargeant.
I call on the Minister for Natural Resources, Carl Sargeant.
16:00
Carl Sargeant / The Minister for Natural Resources
I think that we can all agree that climate change is having a significant impact on our communities across the globe, and indeed in Wales, too. It is something on which we can come together on certain issues, in terms of the development of opportunities to tackle these very issues, as has been outlined by many Members in the Chamber today. On climate change, we continue to take an active part internationally to secure the UN objective of getting a new international agreement in Paris next year. Last week’s UN climate summit, as Antoinette Sandbach made reference to, was an important step, and it raised the momentum for a global climate agreement.
The Welsh Government joined with other regional Governments in signing a new global compact of states and regions on that very process, as the Member alluded to. It commits the signatories to reporting against their climate change actions, commitments and on progress towards targets. We have also signed the World Bank’s statement calling for a global price on carbon, along with 73 other national Governments, 11 other subnational Governments, and 1,000 businesses and investors across the world.
I recognise the contribution made by Members today, asking regarding the climate change policy refresh. I intend to make an oral statement in late October with regard to that. Unlike in England, we are taking an integrated approach to natural resource management. We think that this is fundamental if we are to mitigate and adapt to climate change. This is at the heart of our legislative programme, as Members referred to, and it is also at the heart of delivery where we are committed to both natural-based approaches and technology innovation. For example, on our commitment to tree planting—and I know that Members made reference to deforestation—we recently announced funding for the Llynfi Valley for the creation of 30 ha of new woodland planting. This will result in emissions savings of around 13,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide after 25 years. It certainly is not our policy to create deforestation. We are continuing to invest in our communities of forests around Wales.
On energy, it has been a really interesting debate, and I welcomed Paul Davies’s contribution today. In fact, it was a very balanced view in terms of opportunities for the future. The approach that the Member brings to the table is about looking at the collective of renewables and new opportunities presented. Indeed, I am aware very much of the Pembrokeshire processes in terms of energy creation in that particular area—a very valuable asset to Wales it is, too. The irony of the fact is that Paul Davies’s constructive approach to marine opportunities is then obscured by comments made by colleagues on his own benches, where there seems to be a political intervention in terms of their approach to renewables. Indeed, I know that the leader of the opposition is a big fan of windfarms, and yet his own backbenchers are now critical, all of a sudden, of their development in such areas.
16:03
Carl Sargeant/ The Minister for Natural Resources
I will give way in a second. What we need to understand—and this is the debate for the grown-up discussion around climate change—is that this is about having a mixture of renewable energies, so low-carbon, renewable, tidal marine, and microgeneration. We need a complete mix that is fit for the future in terms of opportunities for Wales. That is why I was surprised by William—. [Assembly Members: ‘Powell.’] Thank you. I was surprised by his contribution this afternoon, when he said that he would be supporting Plaid Cymru in its approach in its amendments regarding targets on renewables. The Member will be aware that any targets for sustainable energy in Wales must include nuclear energy and low-carbon energy. Again, the confusion within Plaid Cymru regarding whether nuclear is acceptable or not still remains. I am still not convinced, or understand, what that approach is. Maybe the Member, at some point, would like to clarify that for me.