Question to the Wales Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what discussions he has had with the COP29 President on promoting a green recovery from the covid-19 outbreak in (a) Newport West constituency and (b) Wales.

I have had a number of discussions with the COP26 President Designate about the opportunities that exist in Wales to support the drive to net zero, including as part of the COP26 Devolved Administrations Ministerial Group, which I last attended on 10 June.

The UK Government is actively progressing plans to deliver a Green Industrial Revolution that drives the transition to net zero and levels up across the UK. The Prime Minister set out his ambitious 10 Point Plan back in November, which will mobilise £12 billion of UK Government investment to create and support up to 250,000 highly-skilled green jobs across the UK, and spur over three times as much private sector investment by 2030.

As I set out in the UK Government’s Plan for Wales, Wales is at the heart of this agenda. We have backed the South Wales Industrial Cluster with £21.5 million to develop detailed plans to support the region’s net zero transition. We are supporting floating offshore wind, which has the potential to deliver significant supply chain benefits to South Wales and beyond, with a range of policy measures. In addition, we have committed £15.9 million to pioneer low-carbon transport technologies in Cwmbran.

We recognise there is more to do and will bring forward a Net Zero Strategy and plans to decarbonise buildings and transport later this year, which will present further opportunities to the people of Newport West, wider South East Wales and beyond.