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'.--Section 2 of the Welsh Development Agency Act 1975 shall be amended by inserting the following subsection--
"(3A) One member of the Agency shall be responsible for monitoring progress on the sustainable development aspects of the Agency's work.".'.
Mr. Dafis: I welcome the opportunity to debate at last, after several attempts, sustainable development. There is hardly a more important topic in considering a national future for Wales and the roles of the national assembly and the new development agency.
Some of the amendments and new clauses in this group apply to the assembly and others apply to the development agency, but none applies to both. We welcome the Government's long-awaited new clause 38, which applies to the assembly but not to the development agency. Inserting that new clause in the Bill may mean that our national assembly will be the first national legislative body to have a statutory duty to consider sustainable development. That is welcome and, if it is taken seriously, it could be highly significant for the future of Wales. We strongly believe that both the assembly and the development agency should be subject to such a duty, and I shall explain why later.
Amendment No. 517 inserts the words, "sustainable economic, environmental" in place of the word "economic" in relation to the WDA's functions. Amendment No. 518 would add the words:
New clause 18 concerns the assembly and would have a similar effect to the Government's new clause. By the way, a small error appears in new clause 18, subsection (3)(a), in which reference should be made to subsection (1) rather than subsection (2).
Sustainable development is not just environmental protection, important though that is. It is certainly not just preservation, which has its place. Nor is it about keeping matters as they are. It is about making improvements in efficiency, prosperity and people's quality of life in a way that sustains and strengthens the natural environment and social equity. The concept of social equity was discussed briefly under the last group of amendments. I shall not spend too much time on it, but it might be worth bearing in mind the development advocated by David Adamson of the university of Glamorgan as part of the process of economic regeneration. He advocates taking hold of an area where there is social deprivation, helping the people to acquire skills, empowering them to use fashionable terms, and bringing about economic regeneration from the bottom up as well as from the top down. That example of using an agency's powers for social purposes is functional in relation to economic development. It is also an aspect of sustainable development.
Thus, sustainable development means integrating--that is the important word--environmental and social equity considerations into all aspects of policy. Implementing sustainable development means identifying and then actively pursuing opportunities for development that bring those three elements together. It is not possible for the Welsh Development Agency or the assembly to pursue only sustainable development. We live in a world where a great deal of development is unsustainable. That may come to an end at some stage, but if one is committed to sustainable development, one is always looking out for opportunities that bring those three elements together. It is not always easy, but the scope is great and it will become greater as policies change at all levels: global, European, British and Welsh.
I am confident that the national assembly will meet as sustainable development rises to the top of the political and economic agenda. Achieving the transition to sustainable development will be the dominant theme of the new century. We are all caught up in that global process to a greater or lesser extent. The latest phase is the Kyoto agreement on greenhouse gas emissions. The process extends from the global to the local level through the Agenda 21 process.
We have a serious opportunity to put Wales at the forefront of that transition to sustainable development, just as Wales was at the forefront of the transition to industrialism 200 years ago, when our resources of energy were a crucial consideration. The assembly therefore has every reason to adopt sustainable development as a central theme for Wales. Until now, there has been a significant
failure in Welsh Office policy in that regard. In 1993, the Government published their first sustainable development strategy and established an advisory panel on sustainable development, chaired by Sir Crispin Tickell. It established a useful round table, which has been meeting regularly and proposing policy recommendations. Both those bodies have done useful work.
On the day in February when that launch occurred, the Scottish Office, when Ian Lang was Secretary of State for Scotland, set up an advisory panel on sustainable development and a sustainable development unit within the Scottish Office. I am told that both do useful work within the Scottish Office. That did not happen in Wales. The then Secretary of State for Wales refused to do that, and opportunities have been lost as a result. No working group was set up and the previous Administration rejected my request in a debate in this House, and requests from others, to establish such a process. We have had nothing of that seriousness in Wales.
Consultations on the Government's new sustainable development strategy document, "Opportunities for Change", which was published a fortnight ago, will be completed by the end of the year. That process must be used to develop a distinctive Welsh agenda on this subject: it should not be an appendix or a pale imitation of what is happening in England or throughout the United Kingdom.
If the Government have ideas that are ready for implementation and that will put Wales at the forefront, the assembly will hit the ground running when it meets in the summer of next year. A distinctive agenda could be part of the brand image of Wales and establish Wales's reputation in Europe and the world. How will the Secretary of State use the consultation process for such purposes?
The energy sector is relevant to sustainable development. Wales has major sustainable and renewable energy resources. The Government are committed to generating 10 per cent. of electricity from renewable resources by 2010. That would enable us to develop diversity and security of supply at competitive prices.
Mr. Denzil Davies:
I am following closely the hon. Gentleman's argument about energy and sustainable development. Does he agree that nuclear power stations do not transgress the principles of sustainable development?
Mr. Dafis:
No, I do not. Some people suggest that nuclear energy enables us to meet CO 2 emission targets because carbon is not used. However, it is unsustainable because of problems with decommissioning nuclear power stations and disposing of wastes. There is a debate on the issue. My view is that substituting nuclear for fossil fuel-based energy is not sustainable, but other options are.
Sustainable or renewable energy involves a dispersed and decentralised pattern of production and offers significant wealth creation and job opportunities in rural areas. Many of those opportunities are frustrated by the nature of the debate on renewable energy in Wales. The assembly and the agency should ensure that we have a more sophisticated understanding and a more intelligent debate. Wales could take a lead. The debate is not just about renewable energy. Offshore oil and gas resources will not be subject to decisions of the assembly, but it should influence the way and degree to which they are exploited.
"to promote the environmental sustainability of economic activity in Wales"
in line 13. Amendment No. 522 refers to the need to allocate resources and set priorities for the agency, and says that those
"shall have regard to the need for sustainable economic development throughout the whole of Wales."
25 Feb 1998 : Column 409
The concept of the "whole of Wales" has already been discussed and I am sure that it will be discussed under the next group of amendments when we consider rural policy.
New clause 37, which I like to think is ingenious, would require one member of the agency's board to be responsible for monitoring the progress of the sustainable development aspect of the agency's role. Just as some organisations have a sustainable development unit, it would be useful to have one person on the board with the job of monitoring progress.
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