The ambition to meet the target of net zero emissions across North Wales has been mostly positive and progresses at a steady rate, but there is still far to go, and the North Wales Economic Ambition Board is now looking to implement an even more radical economic strategy to help get the region there faster.

Listen to our full interview with Robyn Lovelock below:

From its signing in December 2020, sustainability has been at the core of the North Wales Growth Deal – a £1.1 billion investment supported by both the UK and Welsh Governments that will fund 14 transformative projects for the region by 2036. Awareness of net zero has been present for some time now among local authorities and businesses across the region, but with its recently strengthened commitments to reducing emissions and increasing regional biodiversity, the Board are encouraging further partnership working to act on the necessary transitions now, rather than delaying change to 2030 or beyond.

Business News Wales spoke to Robyn Lovelock, a Programme Manager for the North Wales Economic Ambition Board, to take a closer look at this strategy in its benefits and challenges, as well as discussing what a net zero North Wales could look like in the next decade.

“The North Wales Economic Ambition Board recognised that the built environment is responsible for about 40% of global emissions, and so it really took on board its responsibility for limiting [the region’s] contribution. It pledged to deliver projects to net zero operational emissions, to reduce embodied emissions, and also to impact positively on biodiversity through its projects.

So, we are now working with each of the projects to put these into practice. And of course, the projects themselves will each contribute to the Government’s strategies to reduce emissions and ensure that they support the transition to a low carbon future.”