Dr. Alison Hough:

Essentially, it comes down to whether the Government is willing to put its money where its mouth is in terms of climate change. It needs to be willing to hire in the expertise to be able to do the modelling and the correct planning, and willing to commit to genuine public engagement, which takes resources. The just transition makes a really good counterpoint to our climate planning. Just transition is about climate but it has not faced the same levels of opposition because it has been done in a much more consultative and participatory way. If we treated the public's views on our climate plans with the same degree of respect as we treated the views of midlands counties, where I am from, on the move away from peat, then we would be able to make much faster and better progress, Genuine and broad public engagement would bring to the table some of that expertise and some of those solutions that are being offered for free by members of the public and by NGOs which have made excellent submissions and analysis already of the NECPs and suggestions for improvements.

It is a circular thing to not give the space for public participation. I am very concerned about this because the deadline is 30 June for the final NECP. It is now 14 May. We do not have a draft. As the Deputy, Mr. Coghlan and everyone else has said, this is a really complicated document. I would struggle to read it. How are we to communicate it, break it down into chunks and communicate the different themes to the public and get genuine feedback on the final draft in time for its submission? We will not be able to do so. Either we will cut corners or we will be late.