Contact/Cyswllt:  Sian Cliff
02920 898342 / sian.cliff@wales.gov.uk

New research from the Welsh Liberal Democrats shows that the Labour-Plaid Government are in danger of repeating Jane Davidson’s broken promises on school buildings with a key climate change target.

Welsh Liberal Democrat Environment spokesperson Mick Bates AM said: “The Environment Minister has said she wants the public sector to lead the way in achieving the government’s target of making all buildings in Wales carbon neutral by 2011.

“But when I checked, the Government didn’t hold any information on how many public buildings in Wales are using green energy technologies or planning to use them.

“Jane Davidson made the same mistake when she promised to modernise school buildings – she promised to bring them up to standard by 2010 without knowing the scale of the problem. In the end, she couldn’t deliver on her promise.

“I found out that only 12 public sector bodies applied for a Low Carbon Building Grants last year, but crucially, we don’t know what Wales needs to do to achieve this target – the government doesn’t keep a register.

“I want to see a register which details exactly what is being done – and I would like local authorities to report on their progress.

“I don’t want to see the government flounder on this. Welsh Liberal Democrats have long campaigned for ambitious, yet achievable targets on climate change. I hope the government isn’t paying lipservice where real action is needed.”

Ends/Diwedd