Open letter response: Regarding recent correspondence with Senedd Committees

We have taken the decision to publish the letter below as a public statement. It has been written in response to recent negative social media activity regarding our communications with our new elected representatives. The referenced social media content has not been included in this publication as we do not wish to promote the misinformation it contains.

As an organisation made up of over 400 diverse groups from across Wales we felt it was important to be transparent with our response to this content, in an attempt to hold to account those promoting false and potentially damaging content to the positive work being done by so many in Wales.

Member conduct and democratic engagement with Climate Cymru

Dear James Evans MS,

We are writing to you in your capacity as Chair of the Climate Change, Environment, Sustainability and Rural Affairs Committee to raise a concern regarding the conduct of committee member Andrew RT Davies MS. We are also copying-in the Presiding Officer of the Senedd, who has oversight over the work of Senedd committees.  

Recently, Climate Cymru contacted you as Chair of the committee in a professional and constructive spirit to discuss the pressing, everyday environmental and economic challenges facing people across Wales. We copied all committee members so that they were aware of our interest in supporting the work of the committee.

While we didn’t receive any direct response to our emails from Mr. Davies, he has posted statements on the platforms X and Facebook that we would like to bring to your attention (attached in the addendum). These statements not only actively undermine the democratic action of sending correspondence to our elected representatives, but go on to promote misinformation about the Climate Cymru partnership and the intention of our correspondence.

It is a fundamental principle that committees are accessible to the public and civic society. We believe that it is an important function of democracy for organisations to feel empowered to engage with Senedd Committees. We feel that, as a committee member, Mr. Davies’s posts will serve to undermine the public’s confidence in doing so in future. 

In these public statements Mr Davies also ignored the core issues raised by our partnership. Instead, he publicly makes incorrect statements about the nature of our work, seemingly designed to provoke polarisation rather than foster a meaningful discussion.

Climate Cymru is a coalition representing over 400 diverse organisations across Wales, spanning community groups, faith institutions, charities and businesses. It is our right as citizens, and our core responsibility as Climate Cymru, to email, engage with, and submit evidence to the Senedd and its committees. Far from dictating, as Mr. Davies’ social media statement suggests, we intend to facilitate meaningful dialogue between decision-makers and the public on issues of critical national importance.

The work we do is rooted in positive, solution-oriented democratic engagement. Activities like coordinating an event to bring hundreds of constituents from across Wales directly to Cardiff Bay to have meaningful constructive, face-to-face discussions with their elected representatives, an event Mr. Davies’s colleague Janet Finch Saunders MS spoke on a panel to a room of engaged citizens. As well as, the Cymru Together initiative, which mobilised hundreds of grassroots groups to advocate for shared solutions. Solutions that protect ordinary people, such as community-owned energy developments, large-scale housing retrofits to tackle fuel poverty, and nature-friendly farming.

Our correspondence was sent in good faith to discuss the very real, tangible crises affecting ordinary Welsh lives today, including the increased frequency of severe flooding, intensifying summer heatwaves, escalating insurance and food costs, and rapid loss of nature. These are high-salience issues that require mature, evidence-led political and public scrutiny.

We sincerely hope that Mr Davies, and all committee members, are committed to the process of engaging civil society in the democratic process, and that future public communications do not further undermine this process. 

Our offer of an initial meeting still stands, in support of your role as Chair of the Committee.  Thank you for your time in ensuring that Senedd committees remain transparent, welcoming, and respectful spaces for civic participation.

Yours sincerely,

Sam Ward
Head of Climate Cymru