SHADOW Minister for Climate Change, Janet Finch-Saunders MS, had the honour of addressing the Soroptimist International Great Britain & Ireland: Cheshire, North Wales & Wirral conference, held at St George’s Hotel, Llandudno.

Mrs Finch-Saunders joined fellow guest speakers Professor Gareth Wynne Jones and Annie Merry, all of whom spoke on the conference’s theme ‘Climate Change, the Environment and Us’.

The global volunteer movement, which works to transform the lives of women and girls, has nearly 80,000 members across 124 countries and have been supporting communities in North Wales for almost five decades.

Commenting after addressing the conference, Mrs Finch-Saunders said: “It was a privilege to be invited to speak at the Soroptimist conference in my hometown, and in relation to the work I am undertaking for the benefit of Aberconwy and Wales.

“I could think of no better place for a conference focussed on climate change to be held than here in Conwy County.

“Last week we were reminded of the serious threat of coastal flooding, yesterday the Conwy Valley braced for what threatened to be yet further serious flooding, and our beaches continue to be home to a worrying amount of plastic waste.

“The organisation has a fantastic opportunity to help empower women and girls locally, nationally and internationally to tackle climate change.

“I was pleased to outline numerous steps we can and should take, such as using our pounds to make a concerted effort to buy British wool clothing and household items, which would have a brilliant impact on our agricultural sector and help combat the frightening fact that an estimated 342 million barrels of oil are used each year in the production of synthetic fibres.”