Environment (Wales) Act 2016

41 Final statement for budgetary period

(1) The Welsh Ministers must—

(a) prepare a final statement for each budgetary period in accordance with this section, and

(b) lay the statement before the National Assembly for Wales before the end of the second year after the period to which it relates.

(2) A final statement under this section must state, in respect of each greenhouse gas, the total amount of Welsh emissions, Welsh removals and net Welsh emissions for the budgetary period to which the statement relates.

(3) It must—

(a) state the total amount of carbon units that have been credited to or debited from the net Welsh emissions account for the period, and

(b) give details of the number and type of those units.

(4) It must state the final amount of the net Welsh emissions account for the period.

(5) It must state whether the Welsh Ministers have decided to carry an amount back or forward under section 40 so as to increase or reduce the carbon budget for the period, and if so must state the amount carried back or forward.

(6) It must state the final amount of the carbon budget for the period.

(7) Whether the carbon budget for the period has been met is to be determined by reference to the information in the statement.

(8) The statement must explain what the Welsh Ministers consider to be the reasons why the carbon budget for the period has, or has not, been met.

(9) In particular, it must include the Welsh Ministers’ assessment of the extent to which their proposals and policies for meeting the carbon budget for the period—

(a) have been carried out, and

(b) have contributed to the carbon budget for the period being met (or not being met).

(10) The assessment must cover the areas of responsibility of each of the Welsh Ministers.

(11) A statement under this section must also include—

(a) an estimate of the total amount of Welsh consumer emissions for the budgetary period to which the statement relates, and

(b) an explanation of how the Welsh Ministers have calculated the estimate.

(12) The “Welsh consumer emissions” for a period are the emissions of greenhouse gases, whether in Wales or elsewhere, that may reasonably be attributed to the consumption and use of goods and services in Wales during the period.