The new Welsh Government will ultimately be judged on whether it chose short-term fixes or long-term action to secure a better future for coming generations, according to Future Generations Commissioner for Wales, Derek Walker.
As a new Senedd term begins, the commissioner is urging ministers and politicians across all parties to focus on decisions that will protect people from future crises in food, energy, nature and public health.
Mr Walker is warning that short-term fixes that ignore the future are one of the reasons people are suffering now and that Wales must plan “not just for the next 100 days, but for the next 100 years”.
The commissioner welcomed early commitments from the new Welsh Government that reflect recommendations from his office, including plans for a national food strategy, greater Welsh ownership of renewable energy and ambitious targets for nature recovery.
He warned that global instability and rising household costs are exposing long-standing weaknesses in food and energy systems, with Welsh families already facing increasing pressure from energy and food prices.
“Food insecurity, nature loss and rising energy costs are often treated as separate problems, but communities experience them as one interconnected reality in their quality of life,” he said.
“The solutions must be joined-up and bold enough not only to improve lives today, but to protect people from future shocks.”
The commissioner highlighted the need for urgent action to expand renewable energy, reduce bills and increase community ownership, noting that only 33% of Wales’ power currently comes from renewable sources.
He also called for stronger legal targets for nature restoration and warned against delaying preventative action on health, climate and inequality.
Since publishing his recommendations to government in his Future Generations Report, every Public Services Board in Wales has committed to climate resilience planning, while local projects across Wales are demonstrating what fairer and greener communities can look like.
With food as a priority, the commissioner said his team has also helped expand the number of local food resilience plans and access to healthy, local food in schools, while challenging a shift in public spending priorities towards preventative health and accelerating stronger action on nature and climate.
Derek Walker is also calling on the new Senedd to establish a Committee for the Future and a Cross-Party Group for Future Generations to help keep long-term thinking at the heart of Welsh politics.
“Winning an election is one thing,” he said. “Protecting the future is the challenge none of us can afford to ignore.”
