The Welsh Government declared a climate emergency in Wales in 2019 and has previously set a ‘collective ambition’ for a net zero public sector by 2030.

We last reported on progress towards the collective ambition in 2022. Since then, we have found that:

• Decarbonisation has become a lower priority for public bodies, partly due to financial pressures. It has not been fully embedded into day-to-day decision making, and public bodies are not doing enough to work together on it.
• The collective ambition has driven action but is poorly defined and criticised for being ‘unachievable’. Public bodies also want more help to translate strategy into action, and the Welsh Government is not checking whether they are achieving stated milestones.
• More public bodies are now part of the Welsh Government’s carbon emissions reporting system and some gaps in data have been filled. Reported emissions have increased but trend data does not tell the full story as these improvements in reporting coverage have played a part. And there are some concerns about data quality, particularly in relation to supply chain emissions.
• Public bodies have made limited progress overall in understanding how much it will cost to decarbonise in the near or longer term. And where public bodies have estimated the longer-term cost, some described it as unaffordable. It has been estimated that it would cost at least £2.3 billion to decarbonise Welsh council buildings alone.
• Public bodies have identified decarbonisation skills gaps but lack a full understanding of their needs and rely on external support.

Our recommendations focus on the Welsh Government in its leadership role. They address clarifying and supporting the strategic direction, improving carbon emissions reporting, and support for better financial planning. We have also recommended that public bodies use the checklist in our report to reflect on their own approach.