The Auditor General for Wales has committed to an ongoing programme of work on climate change. The report ‘Public Sector Readiness for Net Zero Carbon by 2030’ is the first piece of work looking at decarbonisation in 48 larger public sector bodies.
Key Points
- Considerable activity is taking place to reduce carbon emission. However public bodies need to increase their pace of activity amid clear uncertainty about whether they will achieve the collective ambition to have net zero carbon emission by 2030.
- Public bodies have barriers they need to address, and decarbonisation needs to be put at the heart of their day-to-day activities.
- The Auditor General makes the following five calls for action from public bodies:
- Strengthen leadership and demonstrate collective responsibility through effective collaboration;
- Clarify strategic direction and increase pace of implementation;
- Get to grips with the finances needed;
- Know the skills gap and increase capacity;
- Improve data quality and monitoring to support decision making.
- The review found that only two of the bodies that responded to the call for evidence felt that they had fully assessed the financial implications of meeting the 2030 ambition. Public bodies were very clear that significant investment is going to be needed. While the Welsh Government has provided some additional financial support, public bodies will have to think about how they can use existing funds in different ways and share costs with others.
More details are available via the web links below.
Link: Public Sector Readiness for Net Zero Carbon by 2030
(Briefing note compiled from source material)
Action Required:
Audit Committees and Boards / Governing Bodies are advised to note the report and consider the action their organisation is taking in relation to net zero carbon readiness.