Wales Roads Review: initial panel report | GOV.WALES

On 22 June 2021, the Deputy Minister for Climate Change, Lee Waters MS, announced in a statement to the Senedd that there would be a pause on all new road schemes while the existing pipeline of schemes is reviewed.
The context for the review is that Welsh Government, and many local authorities in Wales, have declared a climate emergency. Welsh Government has recently published Net Zero Wales Carbon Budget 2 (October 2021), which identifies the need to reduce CO2 emissions across the whole economy by 63% by 2030. In the transport sector, Net Zero Wales sets an aim to reduce the number of car miles travelled per person by 10% by 2030 (from 2019), and to increase the proportion of trips by sustainable modes (public transport and active travel) to 35% by 2025 and 39% by 2030. Transport emissions accounted for 17% of Welsh CO2 emissions and had declined by only 6% against the 1990 baseline in 2019, highlighting that meeting targets will be very challenging.