The Climate Change, Environment, Sustainability and Rural Affairs (CCESRA) Committee sought views on what its priorities should be for the seventh Senedd term, following the Welsh election of May 2026. Respondents were asked to rank their top three priorities. The consultation page can be found here. 

CIEEM’s response was developed by our Wales Policy Group and internal Policy team. Our top three priorities for the Committee are:

1. A Sustainable Farming Scheme (SFS) that delivers against the Sustainable Land Management Objectives (Agriculture Act (2023)), ensuring farm businesses are resilient against climate change and biodiversity decline and that the agricultural sector’s contributions to addressing the climate and nature crisis are optimised.
2. Improving climate change literacy and planning across government departments to ensure the necessary actions are taken to develop climate resilience across society at the appropriate scale.
3. Reviewing policies affecting water quality and quantity (i.e. availability, scarcity and excess), with a particular focus on planning for how these are affected by climate change and ensuring Wales’ water systems and policies are climate resilient.