About Jane Davidson

Jane Davidson is Chair of Wales Net Zero 2035, an expert group convened between the Welsh Government and Plaid Cymru to ‘Commission independent advice to examine potential pathways to net zero by 2035 – the current target date is 2050. This will look at the impact on society and sectors of our economy and how any adverse effects may be mitigated, including how the costs and benefits are shared fairly. We support devolution of further powers and resources Wales needs to respond most effectively to reach net zero” The Group’s work was published in late 2024 She is the author of #futuregen: Lessons from a Small Country (2020), the story of why Wales was the first country in the world to introduce legislation to protect future generations. #futuregen is published by Chelsea Green.

The update was published in Welsh by Lolfa in 2022 #futuregen: Gwersi o Wlad Fechan and a Japanese version is to be published mid 2025. She is Pro Vice-Chancellor Emeritus at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David, having spent nearly a decade leading the university’s sustainability agenda through the establishment of INSPIRE (the Institute for Sustainable Practice, Innovation and Resource Effectiveness), with the university achieving a number of awards under her leadership. From 2000 – 2011, Jane was Minister for Education, then Minister for Environment, Sustainability and Housing in the Welsh Government, where she proposed a law to make protecting future generations the central organising principle of government; the Wellbeing of Future Generations (Wales) Act came into law in 2015. She introduced the first plastic bag charge in the UK, and her recycling regulations took Wales to among the best in the world. She created a Climate Change Commission for Wales, the post of Sustainable Futures Commissioner, One Planet Developments and the Wales Coast Path.

In Education, she piloted major curriculum changes: in particular, moving away from subjects to areas of learning in the Foundation Phase for early years and broadening the A level curriculum through a Welsh Baccalaureate, integrating Education for Sustainable Development and Global Citizenship into the Welsh Curriculum. From September 2022, the new Welsh statutory curriculum embeds both approaches. Jane is a patron of the Chartered Institute for Ecology and Environmental Management (CIEEM) Seatrust, Cambrian Wildwood and Tools for Self Reliance Wales (TFSR Cymru). She holds honorary fellowships from IEMA (Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment), WWF, CIWM (Chartered Institution of Wastes Management), CIWEM (Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management) and honorary doctorates from the University of Glamorgan. She is a RSA Fellow and has been guest faculty in the Executive Education for Sustainability Leadership programme at Harvard University’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health. She contributes regularly to international expert events, particularly on intergenerational equity. She lives on a smallholding in west Wales where she aims to live lightly on the land.