So, the next item will be the debate on a Member's legislative proposal, on a Bill on climate assurance for children and young people. And this is to be put forward by Delyth Jewell.

Motion NDM8370 Delyth Jewell

To propose that the Senedd:

1. Notes a proposal for a Bill on climate assurance for children and young people.

2. Notes that the purpose of this Bill would be to:

a) amend the Curriculum and Assessment (Wales) Act 2021 to ensure the school curriculum includes an understanding of the severity and urgency of the climate crisis and ecological emergency as a key concept across all areas of learning and experience;

b) ensure the curriculum reflects the urgency and necessity of tackling the climate crisis and protecting the ecological environment;

c) ensure that such teaching is not confined to traditional subjects that cover this area, but is embedded across all areas of learning and experience;

d) recognise the importance of subliminal learning and promote a sustainable environment in which learning can take place; and

e) begin to address climate anxiety amongst children and young people.

Motion moved.

Diolch, Llywydd. It is my pleasure to present my plans for a climate assurance Bill. The climate and nature crises are amongst the most deadly challenges facing our world and our existence. Daily headlines make clear the severity of that crisis, graphs that are going the wrong way, temperature records being broken, and devastating wildfires and floods that threaten communities and lives. It's only reasonable that people would worry about this crisis. But record numbers of young people are so overwhelmed by anger and grief about the state of our planet that it's having a negative effect on their mental state. It's one of the hidden calamities of the climate crisis: this surge in anxiety and fear about this ever-present catastrophe that never gets resolved, but only deepens and gets more urgent.

Our brains find it difficult to deal with ongoing crises like this. A crisis is usually an intense moment in time, where things come to a head and get resolved. But the climate crisis is different, it is always there. And because of Government and global inaction, because of the selfishness and greed of big business, the urgent questions get deferred, the need for definitive action gets kicked down the road, and so, this seething intensity continues unabated, unaddressed, and people's brains go into boiling point. This eco-anxiety is so prevalent that Save the Children has found that 70 per cent of young people are worried about the world they will inherit. In a survey of 10,000 young people, across 10 countries, The Lancet found that 60 per cent were 'very' or 'extremely' worried about climate change. We risk passing on a planet that's been burnt, and a generation of people who've been burnt out with it.

The Deputy Presiding Officer (David Rees) took the Chair.

That is why addressing young people's concerns about the climate crisis has to be more mainstream in our curriculum. That is why we must address this anxiety with assurance, assurance that nobody is alone in struggling to cope with the intensity of this crisis, nor are they powerless in the face of that calamity.

I've been privileged, Dirprwy Lywydd, to work closely with the Royal College of Psychiatrists on this issue, and the college supports fully the plans I'm putting forward, and I've been able through them to speak to clinicians and professors who recognise the urgent need to change how we speak to young people about climate change. We shouldn't gaslight them into thinking it's not as bad as they fear, because it is. But recognising, legitimising that anger, and, yes, that grief about how they feel about what's being taken away from them before their eyes, that's so important, so that they can feel less alone. But at the same time, unequivocally, we must empower them to learn more about what's happening to tackle the crisis, not just in other parts of the world, but in their community, to find out more about groups like the youth climate ambassadors here in Wales, who give voice to young people's concerns, and to give children and young people the tools to get involved in or to form groups themselves.

So, this is what I'm proposing. Firstly, I'd want us to ensure that the curriculum includes an understanding of the urgency of the climate and nature crises across all areas of learning. I'd like to ensure that teaching isn't confined only to traditional subjects that cover this area, like geography and science, and that humanities subjects—psychology, creative writing—embed in their lessons an awareness of climate anxiety and a preparedness to tackle it. And I'd want to begin to address that anxiety amongst children and young people, including through greater guidance and support being given to teachers and schools about how to talk about these issues in a sensitive, productive way.

I support the Royal College of Psychiatrists' call for well-being provision being made to address climate grief. And there are already so many organisations that will, I know, be able to help as partners in this. Keep Wales Tidy's eco-schools programme is instilled with a sense of empowering young people, to arm them with tools to improve the environment. I know over 1,100 schools in Wales engaged with Keep Wales Tidy last year, and their training courses for teachers include carbon literacy, and linking eco work to the curriculum. Other organisations like Teach the Future and Oxfam can also lend expertise to develop these plans. 

And we could also learn from wildlife trusts in Wales, including the Gwent Wildlife Trust, which has also inspired me. There are so many groups and projects for young people to participate in, and this can give young people enormous strength.

And strength is what is needed: strength, assurance, confirmation. Children need assurance about how we as a society, and as humanity, would guarantee their future. In order to protect the health of our young people, and the health of our planet, this assurance needs to be offered. There is a golden opportunity here to use the new curriculum to empower our young people, and to offer them hope in the face of the huge challenges that are associated with the climate crisis. And I look forward to hearing the views of other Members. Thank you.

I think this is why we shouldn't be just teaching towards PISA results, isn't it? We want more rounded children, with a more rounded outlook.

I was once told that if children do not connect with the outdoors before the age of 12, they will not as an adult. And in recent years, many children have increasingly spent time indoors, entertained by a plethora of electronic devices and around-the-clock media. Parents worry about letting their children have independence to go off on their own to the park. It was very different when I grew up. We went out, often for the day, with no forms of communication, exploring the outside, playing in streams, the woods, making dens from hay bales in the field. That was it. Connecting with nature, combined with exercise, eases mental health and gives a sense of well-being. Growing up with it as a child—as my children did—makes you feel like it's your garden to be explored. It gives you confidence just to be out there to roam without fear, but with love, respect, fondness and a sense of well-being with nature. As an adult, then, it feels as natural to be outside as inside, and you then teach that to your own children. It's a cycle.

In the recent state of nature report, we have seen a 20 per cent decline in species abundance in Wales. Forty-two per cent of flowering plants have decreased across Wales, and 18 per cent of species are on the red list, threatened with extinction in Wales. Underpinning nature education is the idea that if the destruction is to be stopped, human beings must learn to care about it. Positive action does work. We have seen that with the decline in chlorofluorocarbons being released, and acid rain has fallen by 80 per cent compared to 1990 levels.

Children are far more aware now, and with COP28 being run by oil barons, and our Westminster Government providing 100 new oil licences, it is terrifying. But it should be more terrifying for adults to know what our children will have to face because of our generation. Children speak to me, saying it's presumed that it will be okay because young people understand and they will make the world better, but they say to me, 'It'll be too late then, it's up to you to do something about it now.' And we must.

At a recent climate action event, led by young people, I listened to their speeches and presentations. One young adult and member of the North Wales Wildlife Trust youth forum read out a letter from a friend. The person was unable to be present, but said how anxiety regarding the climate emergency was so overwhelming it made them extremely depressed. It's made it really anxious for them and they couldn't find a way out. It was really saddening to hear this. The person eventually overcame this anxiety by being part of the group of like-minded people, working together to help the environment. The group is for people aged between 11 and 24 who are passionate about learning about the environment and helping bring communities together to protect it. They run monthly sessions learning about nature, its threats and conservation, both marine and terrestrial, developing conservation skills that will be valuable in the green sector should they want to continue that, coming together to meet like-minded people, which is a wonderful positive action, working together. Diolch. 

I call on the Minister for Education and the Welsh Language, Jeremy Miles.  

Thank you for your proposal on a climate assurance Bill in education. Climate change is one of the greatest challenges facing us as a global community. In order to ensure a greener, fairer, more prosperous Wales, everyone in Wales, including our children and young people, have a part to play in pushing for the change towards a low-carbon future. As we build our Curriculum for Wales and our investment programme, our intention is to create an ambitious and innovative education system, and it has to tackle issues that define our generation: decarbonsiation and living sustainably. The voices of our children and young people are crucial to that process. Mainly, that means listening to them. We all know, from our conversations with children and young people, just how passionate and concerned they are about climate change and about securing a better future for themselves and future generations. 

One of the four aims set out in the curriculum and assessment Act and at the heart of the curriculum, in addition to the decisions that schools make, is that children become principled and informed citizens. Part of this aspiration is specifically defined in statutory guidance as something that supports learners in demonstrating their commitment to the sustainability of the planet. That's why learning about climate change and the environment is mandatory in the Curriculum for Wales. The 'what matters' statements in the humanities and science and technology make specific reference on a number of occasions to elements on the climate and nature emergency, responding to climate change, and the environment. 

This means that it's already a legal requirement to address climate change and to respond to the climate emergency in school curriculums. It's not just at one point of the journey through education, but along the whole journey. And across all subject areas, schools are empowered and encouraged to educate about climate change and the environment through educational contexts of all kinds, in order to inspire and garner the interest of learners. The 'what matters' code, which includes these requirements, was planned to ensure mandatory requirements such as these. Setting additional expectations on the face of the curriculum and assessment Act would not add to what is required for learners to learn already. But it could create confusion by setting different requirements in different places at a time when I am committed to simplifying the expectations placed on schools.

In order to support schools in delivering the required legal requirements, we have commissioned resources to support teachers to plan a curriculum that includes effective learning about climate change and the importance of action. This includes resources for schools that relate specifically to climate anxiety. The proposals talk about anxiety in terms of climate change. I know that the impact of climate change is a concern for children and young people, and, for some, this will lead to anxiety. And that's why addressing mental health and responding to a range of experiences, including those that actually exacerbate anxiety, are, again, a requirement for all schools.

I want children and young people to be supported and helped. Nobody learns properly if they are anxious or have mental health problems, and the curriculum is planned to empower learners to manage this and to ask for support where necessary. I have shared details with you in the past about our other environmental education programmes that are funded, such as Eco-Schools and the Size of Wales, which work with schools and young people in order to raise awareness about climate change and the importance of safeguarding the natural world. These programmes encourage children and young people to participate in activities that can have a positive impact on their local environment, such as caring for the school garden or using active travel methods to get to school. Providing opportunities for learners to change something in their local communities can empower them and contribute to their health and well-being. 

'Climate Action Wales: Public Engagement Strategy' talks about including young people, particularly young people, in forming policy on tackling climate change. The voices of children and young people are crucially important and initiatives such as the conference of the parties for young people do encourage me and bring young people from all parts of Wales together to discuss climate change directly with stakeholders and politicians.

To be entirely clear, I agree entirely with the principles underpinning this proposal. That's why we are quite clear in legislation that schools do have to educate learners about climate change, the climate emergency and how to respond to it. Placing further requirements on schools wouldn't add to this. I have also outlined a range of support elements that are in place to ensure that schools deliver these legal requirements and to empower our children and young people in order to create a greener future for Wales.

I call on Delyth Jewell to reply to the debate.

Thank you very much, Dirprwy Lywydd. I thank Carolyn first of all. 

Thank you, Carolyn. You reminded us of the importance of outdoor learning and connecting with nature. You reminded us as well about the dire statistics that relate to species decline, I think focusing all our minds on why it's so important that we have this hope of change. As you said, if the devastation is to be stopped, human beings must learn to care about it. That's exactly it. Thank you so much for sharing that with us and sharing your thoughts. 

I also thank the Minister for his response. Yes, the climate change challenge and how we respond to that is what will define our generation. I agree entirely with you. And thank you also for setting out how the curriculum does focus on supporting our young people. It is a good thing that learning about climate change is mandatory and the resources that are available already about climate anxiety are to be welcomed, certainly. I'd like to still see the Government centralising this more, perhaps. The work that's there is very positive.

I know we may disagree about the fact that—. You said at the end that you don't want to impose more requirements on schools. I do see that viewpoint, certainly. The reason why I would like to see this being—I'm not sure how to say the verb 'to package' in Welsh—put together in a central package is in order to show and inspire young people who are so concerned about climate change and will suffer from anxiety to see that it's something that shows them that the Government does recognise and wants to show that action to them.

Climate anxiety is a sensible and reasonable response, but if we see it as something that is inevitable we will be drowned by a lack of action and a lack of belief in our ability to change things. So there is a delicate balance that needs to be found between recognising and justifying the concern that young people feel about climate change and the need to give them hope that change is possible, and an assurance that they are not alone in this battle.

I'd just like to thank again, Dirprwy Lywydd, the Minister and Carolyn for taking part in this debate. I'd like to say at the end to any young people who are listening to this debate now or in the future that your voices are important and we in the Senedd do hear them and we want to ensure—. We understand why they are concerned, but there's always hope and we can change things for a better future. Thank you. 

The proposal is to note the proposal. Does any Member object? [Objection.] There are objections. We will therefore defer voting on this item until voting time.  

Voting deferred until voting time.