Wales Must be Bolder in Securing Investment for Net Zero

Wales has set ambitious targets for achieving net zero, but ambition alone is not enough. To reach our goals, we need to be much more confident in making our case for investment. This is not about asking for special treatment – it is about ensuring that Wales gets the funding it needs and deserves to drive transformational change. 

The Wellbeing of Future Generations Act gives us a clear framework for what we want to achieve. It should be our North Star, guiding decisions on investment and innovation. Too often, we seek to prevent our past mistakes rather than focusing on what we want for our communities to thrive now and in the future. Instead, we should be using the Act to set out a clear vision for Wales – a vision that articulates what we need to achieve and how we will get there. 

The reality is that meeting net zero targets will require billions of pounds in investment between now and 2040. We are not talking about a handful of small-scale projects. This is about creating an investment culture that requires large-scale, long-term funding that will support Welsh businesses and workers, ensuring that the benefits of decarbonisation are felt across the economy. If we get this right, we can deliver a globally competitive low carbon economy while creating high-quality jobs and strengthening local supply chains. 

But Wales needs to be more assertive in securing this investment. At the moment, we are not getting our fair share of funding from UK-wide initiatives such as Innovate UK and the research councils. This is despite the fact that Wales has a higher per capita carbon footprint than other parts of the UK, meaning we need greater support to transition successfully. 

One key area we must improve is our ability to secure competitive funding. Too many small and medium-sized businesses struggle to navigate the complex world of grant applications, and as a result funding often goes elsewhere in the UK, leaving Wales behind. We need to change this by building confidence and capability in bid writing. 

Initiatives like the Launchpad programme in South West Wales, as well as the Agri-Tech and Food Technologies Launchpad in Mid Wales and North Wales, are making a real difference in helping businesses access funding. But we need to go further. Organisations such as Business in Focus and BIC Innovation are already supporting businesses with bid writing, but there is more to be done to embed a culture of confidence. 

Other parts of the UK, particularly the Oxford-Cambridge corridor, have been highly successful in securing research and innovation funding. Wales needs to adopt a similar approach – one that is bold, strategic, and unafraid to put itself forward. 

This is not just about improving our ability to compete for funding. It is about shifting the way we think about investment and innovation. Instead of spreading resources thinly across multiple small-scale projects in the hope that something succeeds, we should focus on what Wales does best. Identifying key strengths and building on them will help us to create a globally recognised low carbon economy. 

Wales is a small nation, but that should not hold us back. We need to be more confident, more vocal, and more determined in securing the investment we need. We must put our case forward with the same energy and assertiveness as other parts of the UK and Europe. 

The potential is there, and the framework is in place. Now is the time to push harder, be more ambitious and ensure that Wales leads the way in delivering a sustainable and innovative net zero economy.