Welsh Government budget prioritises action on climate change through a fair transition

On 20 December 2021, the Welsh Government announced its budget for the next three years, committing £2.65 billion of investment to address climate change and build a greener nation as the country recovers from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Stew Horne, head of policy at Energy Saving Trust, commented: “Energy Saving Trust welcomes the publication of the Welsh Government’s draft budget for 2022 to 2025. The draft funding settlement rightly prioritises action on the climate emergency, with a boost to funding in several key areas over the next three years and total spending on climate change in 2022/23 reaching £2.85 billion.

“It is especially encouraging to see a doubling of resource spending for Clean Energy and Climate Change Action next year and the capital budget for the Welsh Government Energy Service, which helps communities create renewable projects, increasing to £15 million. Overall, this means Welsh Government will invest an additional £8 million revenue and close to a total £90 million capital up to 2024-25 to deliver on their renewable energy goals.

“The ongoing energy price crisis will affect thousands of households over the coming year, pushing many into fuel poverty. The Welsh Government’s increases to the Fuel Poverty capital budget to £30 million next year and £35 million the year after should go some way to addressing this. Investments in Sustainable and Active Travel spending are also welcome with £220 million of capital in Active Travel programmes scheduled out to 2024-25.

“Ensuring the transition to electric vehicles is as smooth as possible must be another priority, so the £43 million capital up to 2024-25 to support charging infrastructure, fleet replacement and promote collaboration within delivery groups is good to see. We also look forward to hearing more about the Welsh Government Ultra Low Emissions Vehicle Transformation Fund.”