14 Jun 24
Analysis by Dr Jason Palmer (Cambridge Energy, CAR and UCL)
Plaid Cymru’s Manifesto has a strong fairness agenda: fair funding for Wales, fair play for patients, and fairness for families and communities. They say £4bn is owed to Wales for HS2 (an England-only project, so they should be compensated for missing out) and Westminster funding for Wales should be based around needs, so the Welsh get the public services they deserve.
Plaid say the UK should re-enter the EU Single Market and Customs Union at the earliest opportunity, to mitigate the impact of Brexit on Welsh businesses. They also want to reverse the decision to close the blast furnaces in Port Talbot – and to explore options for greening steel production, including using green hydrogen.
Plaid say they recognise that the climate and nature emergencies are the biggest threat to mankind, and the Manifesto reaffirms their commitment to reaching net zero targets in Wales by 2035 – even more ambitious than the Greens. However, they offer little detail on how they would achieve this, or fund it.
How much would each party's manifesto commitments reduce UK CO2e emissions?
Party Manifestos - Climate Comparison
| Key pledges in the next parliament | Impact on UK emissions | Impact on per capita emissions |
|---|---|---|
| Establish Welsh Green New Deal – reskilling employees and apprentices to move into the green and net-zero sectors | Unquantifiable | Unquantifiable |
| Introduce higher Air Passenger Duty and kerosene tax for private jets | Unquantifiable: depends how much | Unquantifiable: depends how much |
| Seek to expand Wales’ national energy company, Ynni Cymru, to grow community-owned renewable energy generation | Unquantifiable: depends how much | Unquantifiable: depends how much |
| Oppose new nuclear generation sites in Wales | RISE in emissions | RISE in emissions |
| Would oppose new licences for oil and gas drilling | Low (by 2030) | Low (by 2030) |
NB: It is not clear when Plaid’s key pledges would be actioned.
Back to: News & Analysis