17 September 2020

The issue of the climate and natural emergencies are now seared into public consciousness.  In Wales, we have led the world in establishing clear principles which guide the impact of today’s actions on tomorrow’s outcomes through the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015.  How are we progressing in turning these principles into action and what now are the key energy priorities for the 2020s?    Our panel considers the view from 2020.

With the growing dominance of renewable and low carbon energy, there is a greater urgency to ensure energy system infrastructure can accommodate the characteristics and availability of multiple energy sources to serve the changing requirements of heat, transport and industrial sectors.   How do we understand and keep pace with the changes that are happening around us to optimise our energy networks?

How does Wales position itself as an attractive proposition for energy investment post Brexit?  Do investors see government interventions as useful or increasingly unstable and how do we square the contribution of risk-taking capital with the rise of a decentralised, democratised energy system answerable to nobody?  How do we accelerate the pace of investment in Wales and how do we marshal the tools we have at our disposal to deliver economic development?