Morning, Thursday, 10th October 2024
Online
This conference will examine climate adaptation progress so far in Wales and priorities moving forward.
It is bringing stakeholders and policymakers together to discuss the next National Adaption Plan, which is expected later this year.
With the First Minister emphasising tackling the climate emergency in his legislative priorities, delegates will discuss implications of policy plans for stakeholders including agriculture, energy and heat generation, housing, transport and infrastructure.
Delegates will also examine findings from the Welsh Government’s consultation on its Just Transition Framework, looking at issues identified by stakeholders such as the need for strategic guidance and customised approaches to ensure fairness. We expect discussion on opportunities for community-based approaches and engagement with vulnerable groups, as well priorities for funding, transport infrastructure, and education and training.
Attendees will also consider what further steps are required to deliver the changes needed to meet net zero targets, looking at challenges around resources and the current skills gap, priorities for innovation, frameworks for collaboration between key sectors and local authorities, and what further support local authorities need in implementing adaptation strategies.
A focus for the conference will be assessing next steps for building the nation’s climate resilience, including progress in the year since the Climate Change Committee’s Adapting to climate change - Progress in Wales report, which highlighted issues including insufficient data and monitoring, as well as significant gaps in planning and policy in a range of sectors across Wales.
The Head of Adaptation for the CCC, Richard Millar, is a keynote speaker at this conference. We are pleased to be able to include a further keynote session with Sarah Jennings, Director, Communications, Customer and Commercial, Natural Resources Wales.
With discussion on opportunities and challenges for reducing immediate threats, delegates will consider what is needed to drive key enablers such as community engagement, improve agricultural resilience, decarbonise the housing sector, as well as priorities for addressing monitoring issues and plugging data gaps, and scope for further climate research.
Overall, the agenda includes discussion on:
- adapting to climate change: progress in Wales so far - priorities for building resilience - delivering adaptation action - aligning adaptation with biodiversity, well-being and net zero commitments
- next National Adaption Plan: key issues and priorities - identifying areas for further research - engaging communities and sectors - agricultural resilience, sustainable practice and land management
- protecting ecosystems: securing both natural and built environments - protecting at-risk communities and infrastructure - impact of the Infrastructure (Wales) Act 2024 for planning and targets
- building adaptation data and monitoring: assessing progress with the provision of data - increasing data collection to inform decision-making - monitoring impacts to understand the adaptation gap
- sectoral planning for climate change: lessons learned from adaptation approaches so far - assessing best practice - support needed to manage risk - engaging the private sector in adaptation planning
- coordination: frameworks for collaboration - assessing shared challenges and opportunities for cross-working on constructing comprehensive and actionable climate change adaptation plans
- protecting communities and public health: supporting community-led adaptation projects - developing flood resilience in at-risk areas - identifying increasing health service demand arising from climate change - strengthening policies and plans to ensure quality and accessible healthcare delivery
- infrastructure and transport networks: improving resilience to severe weather - planning and adaptation targets - minimising the impact of increased precipitation, flooding and temperature changes
- water and energy: reducing vulnerability to extreme weather - identifying and managing interdependencies with other services - security planning to deliver reliable supply - increasing reservoir performance and water transfer between regions
- policy priorities: embedding climate resilience across Welsh government policy - approaches to ensuring a just transition to net zero - integrating adaptation into long-term planning and investment decisions
The conference will be an opportunity for stakeholders to consider the issues alongside key policy officials who are due to attend from the Welsh Government; Defra; EA; Ofwat; ORR; DESNZ; DAERA, NI; Department for the Economy, NI; and MoD.
The proceedings of the conference will be circulated more widely, to Members of the Senedd, ministerial offices, and government and regulatory officials with an interest in the issues being discussed. All delegates will also receive a video recording of the conference.
