THE Welsh Government hopes to trigger "a wave of action at home and internationally" through its declaration today of a climate emergency in Wales.

The declaration was made ahead of a meeting between UK, Welsh and Scottish environment ministers in Cardiff, and is intended to indicate that the Welsh Government will not allow the process of leaving the EU to detract from the challenge of climate change.

Political opponents have given it a cautious welcome, but warned against "empty pledges", with Plaid Cymru insisting the M4 Relief Road plan must be scrapped if the declaration is to be meaningful.

The declaration has been made ahead of the publication of the latest advice on from the Welsh Government’s statutory advisory body the UK Committee on Climate Change, on how meeting the goals in the Paris Agreement might affect Wales’ long-term climate change legislative targets, due at the end of the week.

“I believe we have the determination and ingenuity in Wales to deliver a low carbon economy at the same time as making our society fairer and healthier," said minister for environment, energy and rural affairs Lesley Griffiths.

“We hope the declaration by Welsh Government today can help to trigger a wave of action at home and internationally - from our own communities, businesses and organisations to parliaments and governments around the world.

“Tackling climate change is not an issue which can be left to individuals or to the free market. It requires collective action and the government has a central role to making that collective action possible.

“No nation in the world has yet fully grasped this challenge but just as Wales played a leading role in the first industrial revolution, I believe Wales can provide an example to others of what it means to achieve environmental growth.

“Our sustainable development and environmental legislation is already recognised as world leading and now we must use that legislation to set a new pace of change.”

Shadow minister for the environment and rural affairs Andrew RT Davies AM, said however, that he hoped the declaration does not amount to an "empty pledge".

“Huge strides have been made over the past few decades, and the UK has played a leading role working towards a global deal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through the Paris Agreement, but it’s clear more needs to be done to tackle climate change," said Mr Davies.

“Since 1990, the UK has cut emissions by more than 40 per cent while growing the economy by more than two thirds, the best performance on a per person basis than any other G7 nation.

"However, regrettably, Wales has lagged behind the rest of the UK with emissions only falling by 19 per cent between 1990 to 2015.

“Only recently Labour’s environment minister set emissions targets that actually fell short of those demanded by the Paris Agreement, so we await to see what action will be taken to ensure this isn’t just another empty pledge from a Welsh Labour Government that has consistently failed to deliver on its promises during its 20 years in government.”

Plaid Cymru has welcomed the declaration of a climate emergency, but insists that it must go hand in hand with the scrapping of plans for an M4 Relief Road around Newport.

The party's environment spokesman Llyr Gruffydd said: "This must now mean a real and immediate commitment to tackling climate change head on, with concrete action and the political will to see it through.

"This includes scrapping the environmental disaster that is the M4 Relief Road, divesting from fossil fuels, and ensuring that sustainability and climate is a part of the new curriculum."

The Welsh Government has committed to achieving a carbon neutral public sector by 2030 and to co-ordinating action - involving academia, industry and the third sector - to help other areas of the economy make a decisive shift away from fossil fuels.

Last month, it published Prosperity for All: A Low Carbon Wales, which sets out 100 policies and proposals to meet the 2020 carbon emissions targets.

A plan for 2021-26 is currently being prepared, and the Welsh Government is also reviewing post-Brexit support for farmers and updating its Nature Recovery Action Plan.