The Wales Centre for Public Policy have published their response to the first challenge question set by the Wales Net Zero 2035 Challenge Group. The group, that brings together policy and environmental science experts together, was established by the Welsh Government as a means of finding solutions to the challenge that reducing carbon emissions presents. As a part of their work, the group has set ‘challenge questions’ as a means of encouraging research institutions, the public and stakeholders of all kinds across society to try to get to grips with the different elements involved in reaching net zero. The group have set five core questions:
- How could Wales feed itself by 2035?
- 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 Wales Centre for Public Policy have launched a report that provides recommendations for the Group in response to the First question, ‘How could Wales feed itself by 2035?’. This work by the Centre is funded by the Welsh Government, as a means of providing independent evidence to the Wales Net Zero 2035 Challenge Group.
In the paper, the authors of the report argue that there needs to be a transformation in the Welsh food landscape and outlines the data crucial to understanding carbon and methane emissions in the agricultural sector in future. It notes that there needs to be a change in the way land is used by farmers towards reducing carbon and methane emissions by providing support to those who may be negatively affected by such a change, such as livestock farmers. Planting trees, changing diets, and improving access to local vegetables and produce are also factors that the report considers. You can read the full report here.
