A prominent green thinktank has expressed concerns that the appointment of a Reform UK Member of the Senedd (MS) to chair a crucial Welsh environmental committee could diminish the rigour of ministerial oversight. James Evans, who previously served as a Conservative MS before defecting to Reform UK in January of last year, is now leading the Welsh climate change, environment, sustainability and rural affairs committee.
This committee plays a vital role in the Senedd, responsible for examining new legislation, scrutinising the Welsh government's expenditure, administration, and policy decisions concerning climate breakdown and environmental issues. It also conducts inquiries into significant matters, subsequently making recommendations to the government. The chair's primary responsibility is to ensure all committee members have equitable opportunities to pose questions and that expert witnesses can respond comprehensively.
Ruth Chambers, a senior fellow at the Green Alliance thinktank, highlighted the significance of this role, stating that as the Senedd's only environmental scrutiny committee, its leadership 'really matters because this is the principal way of holding the Welsh government to account'. Reform UK's party platform includes a commitment to abolish net zero targets, with party leader Nigel Farage describing net zero policies as 'lunacy' and vowing to cancel government contracts for renewable energy projects. Mr Evans himself has previously asserted that rural Wales is 'under attack' from large-scale green energy infrastructure and has indicated that Reform UK would prohibit all new onshore windfarm developments in Wales if elected.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has unequivocally stated that emissions from fossil fuels are the predominant cause of the climate crisis. The IPCC further stresses that global greenhouse gas emissions must be halved by 2030, compared to 2010 levels, to avert potentially catastrophic climate impacts. Ms Chambers commented: 'Wales has come too far on climate and nature to stumble now. It would be a tragedy if party politicking undermined the hard graft of ministerial scrutiny and we hope that the new environment committee will seek to find common cause and not conflict.'
In response to the concerns, Mr Evans, who has a background in farming, affirmed that his role as chair would be 'fair, impartial and evidence-led'. He emphasised that 'scrutiny is at its strongest when it includes different perspectives' and that 'the role of a committee chair is not to drive any personal agendas, but to make sure the committee scrutinises policy properly'. Karen Whitfield, director of Wales Environment Link, noted that recent Welsh elections, which saw an increased number of Reform MSs, have already led to 'quite heated debates' on net zero policies. She added that only time would tell how Mr Evans manages the committee, stating: 'We will just have to see and obviously our members will be very keen to see that there isn’t any bias introduced in the way that committee inquiries are chosen.'
Bethan Sayed, head of politics and advocacy at Climate Cymru, questioned the motivation behind a Reform MS seeking to lead this particular committee. She suggested it could be to 'put forward some of the polarising agendas that they have to date, or maybe they do want to work constructively'. Ms Sayed highlighted Reform's election campaign rhetoric, including advocating for reopening mines and blast furnaces, and their 'coordinated attacks on net zero, opposing certain renewable developments'. She concluded that the responsibility now falls on other committee members to encourage Reform to 'engage in changing that narrative and seeing things in a different light' within a 'serious parliamentary process'.
Source: The Guardian