2 March 2019
In 2015 the Welsh Assembly passed the Well-being of Future Generations Act so making Wales the first legislature in the world to enshrine in law a duty on public bodies to safeguard the well-being of stakeholders who have not yet been born.
I doubt if Greta Thunberg, the 15-year- old Swedish climate change activist has ever heard of Wales but I think she would approve. If you haven’t listened to Greta’s speech to the members of the World Economic Forum in Davos then do; she is an inspiration.
The Well-being of Future Generations Act places a duty on all councils in Wales to consider whether or not the decisions they are making today might compromise the ability of future generations to meet the needs of themselves and their children. I’m sure the law enshrined in the Well-being of Future Generations Act will be tested over and over again by developers, manufacturers, farmers, fisheries and all sorts of enterprises which would like to circumvent the law for profit, expediency or other reasons, so here’s hoping that those in authority think of their grandchildren whenever they are making decisions.
As Greta Thunberg says, “You are never too small to make a difference.”
This has hit home even more in recent weeks with youth strikes on climate and we support every child out there looking to make the best of their future.
Today we broke 20C heat in winter for the first time. This is climate change – and it’s why our kids went on strike last week! Watch @jon_bartley outline why #YouthStrike4Climate are on the right side of history ✊ pic.twitter.com/mAhhcsMd4Q
— The Green Party (@TheGreenParty) February 25, 2019