Minutes
Proposed venue: Siambr Hywel - Tŷ Hywel. View directions
Contact: Marc Wyn Jones
Expected timing: Private
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Minutes of the meeting of the Expert Reference Group on Climate Change Minutes: Climate Change
Expert Reference Group Minutes
of meeting on the 22 May 2017 – Tŷ Hywel, Cardiff Bay Actions Climate Change, Environment and Rural Affairs (CCERA)
Committee clerking team to draft letter to Welsh Government, on behalf of the
Group, to ask what the Government plans to do on climate change. CCERA Committee clerking team to ask UK Committee on
Climate Change for technical briefing and invite representatives to a future
meeting of the Climate Change Expert Reference Group (the Group). CCERA Committee clerking team to ask the Welsh
Government when it is planning to publish the advice from the UK Committee on
climate change. CCERA Committee clerking team to request information on
qualitative targets from the Welsh Government. Group members to put names forward to the Chair, if they
wish to be part of the data task and finish group. CCERA Committee clerking team to circulate
framework/proforma to help Group members frame questions. Group members to contact the Chair with suggested topics
and questions for the CCERA Committee to ask the Cabinet Secretary in Committee
scrutiny later this year. Introduction
and apologies 1.
Apologies
were received from Martin Bishop, Mari Arthur, Steve Brooks, Professor Gareth
Wyn-Jones and Professor Calvin Jones Election
of a Chair 2.
Keith
Jones (KJ) was elected Chair of the Group. KJ introduced himself to the Group. Update
from the Future Generations Commissioner’s office (FGCo) 3.
Eurgain
Powell (EP), from the Future Generations Commissioner’s office (FGCo), gave an
update on its work. Her update focused on four areas: - The FGCo’s purpose and
policy priorities. - Work with the Welsh
Government’s Carbonisation team. - Work on transport and the
environment. - Work on well-being
assessments. 4.
EP
agreed to provide further information to the Group on several issues. A
separate paper has been provided to the Group. Discussion
of paper on timelines and targets 5.
Jess
McQuade (JM) and Haf Elgar (HE) introduced a discussion paper. 6.
JM
talked about the need for a shared understanding of WG policy and commitments
on climate change. She suggested that the group could use the targets and
milestones in the paper as a basis for planning how it could best support the
Climate Change, Environment and Rural Affairs (CCERA) Committee to scrutinise
the Welsh Government. 7.
It
was noted that a considerable amount of relevant policy is not devolved and is
subject to change at a UK level. HE said that it is about how Wales benefits
within non-devolved areas. JM mentioned that there have been announcements
about policies/programmes with a climate change dimension but there’s no
central point to hold all this information together. 8.
During
the discussion, it was suggested that the Group establish a list of actions,
based either on opportunities to influence WG, or by the legal framework and
what needs to be done to hold WG to account. 9.
Several
other issues were raised during discussions, including: - Scrutiny of WG should be
based on the five ways of working. - There needs to be a better
understanding of the metrics the Welsh Government will be using and the
baseline figures being worked from. Several group members also raised questions
about the information the Welsh Government is using as a basis for its policies,
including projections to 2050. - There would be an
opportunity for stakeholders to respond to a Welsh Government consultation on
its low carbon delivery plan. - The Group should agree a
clear methodology on which to base its monitoring work. - The Group could seek not
only to critique whether targets are being achieved, but to influence the
setting of targets. The UK Committee on Climate Change will be advising WG on
this issue in the autumn so that will present an opportunity for the Group to
get involved. - The 2050 target had been set
in the Environment Act, which includes provision for that target to be
reviewed. - It was suggested that
Mission 2020’s global development goals could be used as a resource. - It was noted that the UK
Committee on Climate Change carried out a review into the impact of climate
change across the UK and Welsh Government will integrate this into its work.
The Group agreed to hear directly from the UK Committee. Discussion
of future work 10.
The
Clerk reminded the Group that it can obtain data from WG via the CCERA
Committee. He also mentioned that the Committee’s annual climate change
scrutiny will be taking place at the end of October/beginning of November and
that the Group’s work should inform that process. The Group agreed to prepare a
report to the CCERA Committee, suggesting areas it may wish to focus on in its
session with the Cabinet Secretary (Lesley Griffiths). 11.
The
Group agreed to prepare proposals for questions for the annual scrutiny session
in advance of its next meeting, based on a template provided by the
secretariat. 12.
The
Group agreed to invite a representative of the UK Committee on Climate Change
to attend its next meeting. 13.
It
was agreed that members of the Group would form a sub-group to consider data. Date
of next meeting 14.
It
was suggested that the next meeting should take place in September. The date
would be confirmed shortly. |