All professions have their annoying buzzwords and shibboleths they use to talk to each other and the Welsh political bubble is no exception.
When it comes to political speeches and contributions I’ve always valued content and substance over style and delivery. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve gone through various Senedd speeches thinking to myself, “Just get to the point”, as much as you probably have with my tomes.
It gets to a stage though where some words just lose their meaning entirely. Here’s a tongue-in-cheek look at a few of them.
Normal usage: “To maintain current levels of resource use for a long period of time while causing as little damage to the environment as possible.”
Welsh usage: “Means anything you want it to mean.”
“Sustainable/sustainability” is perhaps my least favourite overused word in Welsh politics – though it doesn’t seem as abused as it was during the Fourth Senedd. It’s gone beyond “greenwashing” to become almost entirely meaningless. You just expect it to be said now.
Absolutely anything can be sustainable if you want it to be. That’s especially the case if you’re the one defining what “sustainable” is. That definition is now in Welsh law in the form of the Future Generations Act.
Conveniently for politicians, it’s a very broad definition to the extent that in Wales we now have a form of “Schrodinger’s Sustainability” – sustainable and not sustainable at the same time.
Want to carpet over a field with new housing or a hospital or whatever – sustainable. Want to oppose carpeting over a field – sustainable.
Building a new road is sustainable because it provides jobs, supports the local economy and can improve air quality in one area by moving the bad air to where there are fewer people. It’s also not sustainable.
Burning household rubbish in incinerators is sustainable because it does less damage to the environment than sending it to landfill, though it’s less sustainable than recycling which is itself less sustainable than reducing household waste – but it’s all sustainable to a degree.
Withdrawing school bus services is sustainable because it encourages young people to walk and cycle. Withdrawing school bus services is also not sustainable because it may negatively impact the Welsh language and increase traffic on the roads.
