The architect of a ground-breaking policy to tackle inequality and promote wellbeing in Wales says the blueprint is being adopted around the globe.
ENDS Report - Power List 2022: the UK's 100 most influential environmental professionals
The inaugural ENDS Power List names the 100 UK environmental professionals who have made the greatest impact in the past two years – as nominated by their colleagues, clients and competitors
Techonomy: Seeds of Sustainability in Wales. And Around the World?
“In 1861, a group of Welsh nationalists gathered in Engedi, a chapel in Caernarfon, on the coast of northwest Wales, to plan a Welsh colony in far-off Patagonia. At the time, in the midst of the Industrial Revolution, many Welsh rankled at the rule of England, the oppressiveness of mining and other industries, and the loss of their culture and identity. The confederates who met in Engedi hoped to regenerate Welsh culture by leaving Wales. In 1865, they succeeded in establishing Y Wladfa, and, today, several thousand people still speak Welsh on the east coast of Argentina.” Read more on Techonomy
University of Essex: COVID19 and climate emergency workshop in the University of Essex
The 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) was held in Glasgow from 31 October to 13 November 2021. Called COP26, it was hosted by the UK in partnership with Italy.
Three weeks before COP26, on 7 October 2021, the Centre for Environment and Society (CES) of the University of Essex held an online workshop, titled “Challenges and opportunities of COVID19 on climate emergency initiatives: from the perspective of the net-Zero-carbon emissions policy”.
There were three guest speakers from three countries. Professor Jim Longhurst, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Environment and Sustainability at the University of West England, Bristol (from England); Jane Davidson, Pro-Vice-Chancellor Emeritus at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David (from Wales); and Mr Olumide Idowu, Co-Founder/CEO of the International Climate Change Development Initiative (ICCDI) Africa (from Nigeria).
Moderated by Dr Jane Hindley, the University of Essex, the full programme ran for 2 hours.
BBC Cymru: Jane Davidson a'i thaith i fod yn hunan-gynhaliol
"Dwi'n byw ac yn brwydro dros un neges: paid â gwneud niwed."
Mae 10 mlynedd ers i Jane Davidson gyflwyno'r gost am fag plastig yng Nghymru yn 2011.
Ond dyw'r cyn-Weinidog Amgylchedd yn Llywodraeth Cymru heb fod yn segur ers hynny ac mae wedi targedu ei hegni at fyw bywyd cynaliadwy a'r ymdrech i fod yn garbon niwtral.
Erbyn hyn mae'n byw gyda'i gŵr Guy ar fferm fach 10-acr cynaliadwy ger Aberteifi. Ac mae'n chwerthin wrth ddweud: "Dwi dal i gael fy adnabod fel y 'menyw bag plastig'!
CREDO Research: Interview with Jane Davidson, author of FutureGen: Lessons from a Small Country
‘A big saviour for me was nature’
I live in a small village on the west coast of Wales. From the moment the pandemic started it was quite extraordinary how our sense of community and agency grew.
Even though I’ve lived here a decade, I’d never experienced it to such an extent.
I felt really wrapped up in the community here - looked after. There was a very strong and satisfying sense of connectedness. Providing the warmth of a tribe.
The pandemic has given us a real picture of human cooperation. We should celebrate that when humans, as a social species, cooperate, they can achieve greater outcomes.
Good Governance: One Planet Standard: time to step up on sustainability governance - Jane Davidson
Back in 2007, after the Welsh General Election in May, I was given the post of Cabinet Minister for Environment, Sustainability and Housing in Wales. It was a huge brief with responsibility for all aspects of nature and the environment, as well as climate change, energy, planning, marine and buildings.
Although I'd lobbied hard for such a portfolio to be created, I had no notion it would be given to me. In many ways it seemed like a double responsibility - ministerial and personal. How could I be a minister with the responsibility for tackling climate change in Wales without also being a minister who demonstrated in my daily life a reduction in emissions?
Being given this brief led directly to a transformation of my own lifestyle. We had discussed it previously as a family, and had already started to make decisions: not flying for holidays, increasing our use of public transport, eating less meat, driving more fuel-efficient cars, growing more fruit and vegetables (organically, to avoid pesticides), but had no plans to do anything beyond that.
Nature at Arizona State University: Professional Highlight
Closer Magazine: Why We Must Act Now To Stop Climate Change
Frontiers in Sustainability Journal: Factoring Future Generations Into Universities' Strategic Intent: Could a Law Help?
Wales is the first country in the world to have put into law the protection of future generations through its Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015; the first country to have a legal mechanism through the Act to deliver on the Sustainable Development Goals and the first country to have put the Brundtland definition of sustainable development into law. What does this mean for the values taught in Welsh universities, and how can the university role be repurposed in the interests of future generations? Building on her research for the book #futuregen: Lessons from a Small Country which was published this year, Jane Davidson, who, in her previous role as Minister in Welsh Government, proposed what is now the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015, will explore the opportunities from this new values framework to transform the university sector, in particular, the student experience in Wales, and whether there are further lessons that would be valuable elsewhere.