Anne Meikle says that the Future Generations Bill can make a real difference to sustainable development in Wales.
Did you turn off your lights for WWF’s Earth Hour?
If you did, you might know that our annual celebration of the planet was a special one in Wales this year. That’s because we had a story to tell the world about our unique approach to becoming a world-leading sustainable nation – a story that is attracting international interest.
The Future Generations Bill is an opportunity to make a real difference for the health of our planet. The first law of its kind in the UK, the Bill is due to be introduced in the Assembly this summer. If successful, it will change the way government and public services work, so that all decisions are designed to benefit people and nature both today and in the long term.
For that reason, we launched our ‘Welsh Wish’ campaign as part of Earth Hour – for people to show their support for a ‘One Planet Wales’ – making our country one that thrives, while using our fair share of the earth’s resources. It’s designed to complement the Welsh Government’s ‘National Conversation’ on the future of our country, ‘The Wales We Want’.
Welsh Wish has been a great success. Launched in early March, by the day of Earth Hour we were celebrating over a thousand wishes on our campaign website. We’ve had support from two Welsh Government Ministers and a total of 22 Assembly Members from all four parties – see the infographic for more details below:
This support is important because if we get the Future Generations law right, it will help us achieve a ‘One Planet Wales’ and inspire other countries with a great example of how to be truly sustainable.
Today, we’d need more than two planets if everyone in the world lived as we do in Wales. Globally, we’re using the earth’s resources too quickly which means we’re facing massive threats to people and nature, such as from climate change and the loss of forests and marine life.
If, like me, you care deeply about our planet, then this is a time of mixed emotions. While each day seems to bring news of damage or threats to the natural world, there is also the feeling of optimism that we in Wales could be about to make a positive difference.
The world is now watching – can Wales really live up to the expectation that we will lead as a sustainable nation? Leading thinkers such as Jonathan Porritt, Sir Stuart Rose and Earth Hour Co-Founder Andy Ridley have all expressed hope that our Future Generations law can be a positive force in the world.
I chair an alliance of over 20 organisations – including the Bevan Foundation, RSPB Cymru and Oxfam Cymru – which has put forward its own proposals for the Bill, following our concern that initial proposals for the law were too weak.
Over the coming months, we’ll be watching closely. Important questions will need to be answered: Will the law place a strong enough duty on government and public services? Will it set up a powerful and truly independent commissioner who can speak up for future generations? Will it change how public money is spent to support a sustainable future?
The success of Earth Hour and Welsh Wish give me added confidence that we have broad support for making the changes we need today to make sure our planet thrives for future generations.
Furthermore, in a poll of Welsh adults conducted by Beaufort Research, 68% of people agreed that ‘Welsh Government should take responsibility for making policy changes that will protect the planet for future generations’, with just 11% disagreeing .
We have the will to act – so let’s do the right thing and make future generations proud of our legacy.
“Did you turn off your lights for WWF’s Earth Hour?”
No – I turned all my lights on just like I try to do for this pointless non-event every year to show my total contempt for the WWF and the rest of the red-green cabal.
I’m afraid the legislation is forked tongues from the politicians. Here in Llangollen an inland tourist destination and centre for outdoor activities two projects have been supported by our AM who is also a Junior Minister. Both these schemes are for out of town developments which will encourage residents to use vehicles rather than walk and severally damages the vibrancy of our town centre contrary to PPW on Town Centres and Sustainability. One of the schemes is an out of town supermarket which will generate enormous amounts of additional traffic and the Corporate will extract millions of pounds out of our local economy at the expense of local jobs, retailers and suppliers in the field to fork network of the Dee Valley an AONB & UNESCO World Heritage Site and buffer zone.
No need for Welsh law abolish the Assembly! Its been a total failure and done nothing to improve life for the people of wales.
Good to see Peter Hugh Charles Davies got out of the wrong side of the bed again. Life here ain’t always a bed of roses Peter, but just imagine living east of Offa’s with their dash to unregulated capitalism? Yuk!
This article says nothing about what may be in the law – or even what WWF would like to have included in it. The situation is beyond high-level messages of this kind.
Aaaaaaagh! Can I be allowed to draw your attention to my comment in response to the blog of May 9th about a similarly vacuous social care law (to which there has been no reply)? Here we go again – an aspirational law with no budget and no detailed policy specified to make the aspiration a reality. just words, words, words. If this is what the Welsh Assembly thinks legislation is for we need to vote them all out and start again with a new lot.
“That’s because we had a story to tell the world about our unique approach to becoming a world-leading sustainable nation – a story that is attracting international interest.”
This is absolute rubbish! How can you be a ‘sustainable nation’ when you don’t have taxation powers and only very limited control over your energy production and natural resources?
“Furthermore, in a poll of Welsh adults conducted by Beaufort Research, 68% of people agreed that ‘Welsh Government should take responsibility for making policy changes that will protect the planet for future generations’, with just 11% disagreeing .”
We are far from being in control of our resources etc. Until then, this ‘Sustainability Law’ is a waste of tiem.
To David: Wales is endeavouring through the Silk Commission get control of energy policy. In the meantime the Future Generations bill when at least attempt to ensure that public money is spent wisely, i.e. in line with the One Planet Wales aspiration. Otherwise it will as another commentator said just be talk talk talk. The document which WWF and its 19 partners has published does not go far enough because it does not include a metric by which we can be certain that the money is spent wisely. For example energy managers must measure monitor and verify energy use to save money and carbon emissions. The same must apply here. What should the metric be? I propose ecological footprint analysis because this is already stipulated in the legislation and planning guidance covering One Planet Development in Wales. And this is a policy of the new One Planet Council.