Wales: Plaid’s stance on Renewables and ‘Net Zero’

Background – What is ‘Net Zero 2035’?

‘Net zero’ simply means balancing the amount of greenhouse gas emitted with the amount removed from the atmosphere. 2035 was Plaid Cymru’s proposed target date for a reaching net zero in Wales – significantly earlier than the UK’s 2050 goal.

The pledge featured in the party’s 2021 Senedd election manifesto and formed part of its 2021 Co-operation Agreement with the Welsh Government.

The commitment was reaffirmed in the party’s 2024 manifesto, although it acknowledged that achieving the target would require ‘collaboration and planning to achieve a just transition.’

Why the Change?

This shift doesn’t represent a rejection of climate change ambition. Instead, it reflects a recognition of the scale of transformation required to decarbonise Wales within just under a decade.

This assessment has been echoed by others. The Wales Net Zero 2035 Challenge Group, established under the Co-operation Agreement to explore and plan for Net Zero 2035,  concluded in its 2024 report Pathways to a Prosperous and Resilient Wales that achieving the target would require:

• ‘a significant step change in ambition from the Welsh Government’
• ‘support from the UK Government’
• ‘a greater societal mandate for change.’

Environmental campaigners had also raised concerns about deliverability. Assessing party climate policies ahead of the 2024 UK General Election, Greenpeace noted that although Plaid’s 2035 goal ‘sounds bold and ambitious, it is much earlier than any other party has committed to’ – raising practical questions about whether it could be achieved.

Renewable Energy Still Central to Plaid’s Vision for Wales

While the timeline has shifted, Plaid’s broader energy strategy remains the same.

Renewable energy has long been central to Plaid Cymru’s political identity. Indeed, the party’s 1999 manifesto for the first Welsh Assembly election recognised that ‘energy is crucial in shaping economies and societies’ and committed to using the Assembly’s economic powers to ‘help the renewable energy sector … [including] hydro, wind, solar, biomass and tidal energy.’

That strategic direction remains unchanged.

Speaking at an event hosted by Ynni Cymunedol Cymru (Community Energy Wales) in Bethesda, ap Iorwerth emphasised that ‘the transition to Net Zero and to greater energy self-sufficiency in an era of increased global insecurity is not optional.’

Key Plaid policy commitments include:

• ‘a minimum community-ownership stake of between 15 and 25% for all energy projects over 10 MW, or corresponding means of capturing community benefits as a key condition for consent.’

• ‘a single national body for Wales responsible for developing large-scale projects, embedding meaningful community ownership, and supporting smaller-scale community energy initiatives’

• ‘a just, green transition that ultimately sees communities take more of their economic future into their own hands.’

The party continues to prioritise community influence in planning decisions and local ownership of infrastructure. It has also proposed a presumption in favour of undergrounding new power lines, while recognising that cost and engineering constraints mean pylons will still be required in some areas.

The direction of travel, then, remains unchanged. What has shifted is the timetable.

The 2035 deadline is being abandoned — but the underlying ambition of green energy transition is not. As ap Iorwerth has indicated, party remains committed to the net zero goal and still believes that Wales ‘can aim for quicker than 2050’.

Net Zero as a Defining Political Fault Line

The announcement comes amid intensifying national debate over climate policy, and shortly after a public protest at the Senedd against pylon and wind turbine proposals in mid Wales.

Climate policy has become a defining issue in devolved Welsh politics, with parties offering sharply different approaches to climate change action and energy transition. Some parties are not just arguing for slower timelines or greater community involvement — but for abandoning the net zero agenda altogether.

Most notably, Reform UK, widely anticipated to compete with Plaid for largest party in the upcoming Senedd elections, is actively campaigning against the net zero agenda entirely. Speaking to LBC, Reform UK’s Richard Tice stated that net zero policies would be “for the dustbin” under his party’s approach.

Recent opinion polls suggest that Plaid could play a central role in forming the next Welsh Government. Several surveys point to a fragmented Senedd, making coalition government highly likely. Recent projections showing Reform on 36 seats and Plaid on 26 would open the door to a Plaid–Labour coalition, or potentially a broader Plaid, Labour, Lib Dem and Green ‘rainbow coalition’.

Whatever the case, Plaid is likely to exert significant influence over Wales’ future energy strategy.

The party’s decision to scrap the net zero 2035 target therefore raises several key questions:

• What new timeline – if any – will replace the 2035 target?
• How will Plaid balance climate ambition with practical constraints?
• How will rival Welsh parties frame climate policy ahead of the the upcoming election?

With climate and energy policy becoming increasingly polarised in Welsh politics, the political implications of this shift are likely to unfold well beyond the party’s Spring Conference.