The Welsh government has begun work on its first Climate and Nature Action Plan, setting an ambition for Wales to reach net zero by 2040 and achieve “substantive nature recovery” by 2050.
Wales is targeting net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040, bringing its ambition forward by a decade compared with the UK-wide target.
The Welsh government has also committed to achieving “substantive nature recovery” by 2050, with the two ambitions being developed through a new Climate and Nature Action Plan.
The plan will set out how the Welsh government intends to tackle climate change and nature loss as connected challenges. A new Climate and Nature Board, chaired by Cabinet Minister for Rural Resilience and Sustainability, Llyr Gruffydd, will help shape the plan and provide external challenge on its delivery.
The UK’s legally binding target is to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
Climate and nature to be tackled together
The Welsh government says the action plan will establish a cross-government programme covering climate resilience, nature recovery and the transition to a lower-carbon economy.
That means looking beyond emissions reductions. The plan will address issues already affecting communities across Wales, including flooding, wildfires, polluted rivers, declining wildlife, hotter summers and coastal change.
It will also consider the implications for food and farming, health, local economies and communities.
“This is not about treating climate and nature as separate problems – they are connected problems and we need to respond to them in a connected way,” Llyr Gruffydd said.
The government says the plan will be developed with communities, businesses, organisations and other partners, drawing on both local experience and evidence.
The aim is to build climate and nature resilience while supporting a “just transition”, with wider priorities including warmer homes, cleaner air and water, sustainable farming, and green skills and jobs.
A new direction for Welsh climate policy
The 2040 target represents another shift in Wales’ approach to net zero.
Previous Welsh governments have set different ambitions for when the country should reach net zero. The previous Labour administration committed the public sector to net zero by 2030 and had also outlined an action pathway for the wider Welsh economy.
Plaid Cymru had previously proposed a 2035 target, but party leader Rhun ap Iorwerth later acknowledged during this year’s Senedd election campaign that this was unrealistic and moved the ambition back to 2040.
The new target now gives the Welsh government a clear long-term deadline, although much of the detail on how it will be delivered is still to come through the Climate and Nature Action Plan.
That delivery challenge will be significant. Reaching net zero across the economy will require continued changes to how Wales generates and uses energy, heats buildings, transports people and goods, and manages land and agriculture.
The Welsh government is also developing a National Energy Strategy, due later this year, which is expected to set out its approach to a low-carbon energy system and the infrastructure needed to support it.
The strategy will place greater emphasis on community ownership, reducing bills and retaining the economic benefits of renewable energy in Wales.
Together, the two programmes point towards a broader approach to the transition: reducing emissions while using the shift to clean energy and nature recovery to support jobs, investment and resilience across Welsh communities.
For now, the 2040 target is an ambition. The Climate and Nature Action Plan will need to turn it into a practical pathway for delivery.